Gift as social and symbolic communication

Izmenjava darov je človeška komunikacija, ki je močno prisotna v našem življenju. Spremlja številne rituale, dogodke in vsakodnevne situacije. Dati, sprejeti in povrniti so dejanja, ki so nam tako lastna, da se jih pogosto niti ne zavedamo. Eden od glavnih pomenov daru je vzpostavljanje in ohranjanje odnosov in vezi med ljudmi. Namen dela je osvetliti eno izmed temeljnih načinov človeške komunikacije – komunikacije daru. Prikazati in razložiti želimo, kako razumeti dar v širšem družbenem kontekstu in nazadnje, kako ga razumeti simbolno, torej onkraj očitno družbenega pomena. Delo je zasnovano kot teoretska refleksija, v kateri argumentiramo naslednji tezo: dar je komunikacija, ki jo moramo razumeti tako družbeno kot tudi simbolnopoteka v skladu z družbenimi normami in pravili v določenem času in prostoru, izraža družbene vloge in odnose ter vzpostavlja družbeni rednadalje, dar je medij, saj izraža sporočilo, ki ga želi obdarovalec prenesti obdarovancu. To sporočilo ni neposredno izraženo, ampak se izraža prek rituala in na simbolen način. Razpeto je med številne dejavnike, kot so identiteta obdarovalca, njegov družbeni status in seveda odnos do obdarovanca, njun medsebojni odnos, kulturno okolje, situacija, priložnost ipd.Gift exchange is a form of human communication which is much present in our lives. It goes together with different rituals, events and everyday situations. To give, to receive and to return are actions so intimately close to us that we are often not even aware of them. One of the most important meanings of the gift is that it forms and keeps human relations. In the thesis we focus on one of the fundamental means of human communication – that is gift communication. We want to show and explain how to understand the gift in the broader social context and how to exceed the question of social area by understanding the gift in consideration of symbolism. The thesis is designed as a theoretical reflection. We want to argue the point that the gift communication is a form of communication that we have to understand in both its social as well as its symbolic dimension. Gift exchange takes place in accordance with social norms and rules in a defined time and space frame, expressing social roles and relations and even creating social order. Furthermore, the gift is a kind of a medium, as it expresses a message which gift giver wants to pass to the gift receiver. That kind of a message is not being directly expressed, but in a ritual in symbolic way. It is influenced by many different factors, such as identity of the gift giver, his or her status and relation to the one to whom it is being given, their relationship, cultural environment, particular situation