Final answer:
The three tiers of Kabre gift exchange are immediate reciprocal gifts (kabre), delayed reciprocal gifts (yilu), and gifts emphasizing social and kinship ties (tsɔɔ/tsɔ). These practices bind the Kabre community together through a combination of immediate, delayed, and socially affirming exchanges.
Step-by-step explanation:
The Kabre gift exchange is a traditional practice seen within the Kabre society in northern Togo, which involves three distinct tiers of reciprocity. These tiers are:
- Immediate reciprocal gifts (kabre)
- Delayed reciprocal gifts (yilu)
- Gifts emphasizing social and kinship ties (tsɔɔ/tsɔ)
These exchanges serve to strengthen community bonds, manage social hierarchies, and facilitate economic transactions among the Kabre people. They show a complex system of interpersonal relations where gifts are given with the expectation of receiving something in return, either instantly or over the course of time, and sometimes without a direct expectation of reciprocity, but rather to affirm social relationships.