Abstract
In Igembe (a Meru-speaking people) communities of Kenya, there is an institutionalised bond-relationship between two exogamous clans, which is called giciaro. People related in giciaro share not only exogamous rules but also reciprocal obligations. They are not allowed to intermarry, and they are obliged to show mutual generosity in giving their counterparts whatever they demand. Any behaviour to the contrary is thought to engender certain misfortunes (negative sanction). Igembe people themselves clearly describe the social norms of the institution in those generalised terms.
When a certain person (A) intends to make a request to another person (B) for financial support, B's mwiciaro (a giciaro counterpart) may be sent to B as A's agent. This is because B cannot refuse his or her mwiciaro's plea. However, as is argued in this paper, it does not necessarily mean that B is forced to acquiesce to unreasonable demands.
Since a giciaro relationship is characterised by reciprocity and mutuality, it is impossible for one party to enjoy one-sided exploitation of the other. That is to say, any requests exchanged between giciaro partners must be, or are expected to be, even-handed; otherwise one or both parties may suffer a devastating loss in the course of a self-centred transaction.
From the author's observations thus far, it seems that the possibility of negative sanction is not the only source of a mwiciaro's power, even though it makes up a part of the institutionalised grounds of a mwiciaro's power. A giciaro relationship is built upon mutual expectations: since a mwiciaro's request is not deniable at all, extreme requests without reasonable grounds should not be made to the counterpart. It is such expectations that convince both parties to comply with the social norms of giciaro. In this paper, the above points are illustrated with a case analysis of fund-raising activities in a village.
