The dying art of gift giving and reciprocity is evident in our modern day society, particularly among our young people. Unfortunately for myself and my age mates this has led to problems in accepting even the simplest of gifts with appropriate cultural grace and return. For Laura Bohannan entering the Tiv society brings a whole new world based largely in gift-giving and reciprocity different to that of her American upbringing. The Tiv have a social exchange of labor, objects, and people that is very complex and structured. Two of the most important aspects of the social exchange system are that: (1) there is no such thing as a free gift and (2) that each gift has rules to be followed in accordance to the context in which the gift is given. For these purposes we will look further into the rules of gift giving, the meaning of different gifts, and some of the not so apparent instances of gift giving amongst the Tiv society. These rules refer to the requirements of behavior as have been established by a community for use in daily living or at any type of occasion (1). In the case of the Tiv cultural rules are apparent in nearly everything in their society. Fortunately for Laura, Sackerton had advised her about the Tiv and she passed her first real test when she shock her fist in greeting to the Tiv people as her truck passed by their fields. However, Laura experiences her first lesson in Tiv cultural rules shorty after her arrival when Chief Kako came to visit her in the bush. In this instance the lesson is about how to receive gifts. In Tiv society one is to receive gifts with both hands cupped and to remark while receiving, that the giver has done well and that you, the receiver rejoices in receiving the gift. If you were to receive a gift with one hand you would be telling the giver that their gift was insufficient. Even worse would be to accept the gift with your left hand, as that would be an outright insult (2). Now armed with the knowledge of how to accept gifts we find Laura in what I would consider the rather comical situation of making her first visits to people’s homesteads. What makes this such an amusing image is the mere thought of having to sit stiffly without words seemingly oblivious to the chicken chase occurring around you until the chicken is caught. Then on top of it all you must act surprised and accept the live bird with the appropriate hand formation. The role applies to both parties. Furthermore the host must determine the proper type of chicken dependent upon his guest. Guests of prestige require the gift of a rooster. For the guest, the bigger the rooster you receive the larger honor bestowed upon you. It is also important to note that conversation is not something to be had until second visits and upon receiving your gift you must then recognize the symbol that it is time to leave (3). Laura is eager to visit again as she wants to talk to the people and learn more about their culture. Lucky for