It's shame that makes men and women enemies: the politics of intimacy among the Miskitu of Kakabila

In: The journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Band 6, Heft 2, S. 311-324

Abstract

This article argues that 'joking' and 'respect' among the Miskitu of Kakabila in Eastern Nicaragua are best understood as diametrically opposed performance styles or registers which mediate both symmetry in same‐sex relationships between men and asymmetry in two quite different cross‐sex relationships. It concludes by arguing that 'shame' in Kakabila is an important technique for ensuring that these performance styles, 'joking' and 'respect', are appropriately enacted in the contexts of these relationships.