Originally Posted By: LukeJavan8
In the nation to which my grandmother belonged
everything was given away, and it had nothing to
do with braggadocio or belongings in excess. Sorry,
but that is not my experience.


Interesting. I only know of the custom through lessons given me as an anthropology student in the early '60s. I bow to your more intimate experience. What nation did your grandmother belong to? I would still question the use of the term potlatch to refer to what I see as an act of laziness or cheapness. I'm referring to the idea that one would give a gift that wasn't bought or hand-made for the occasion, not the custom of your grandmother's nation. I would assume the latter was an act of generosity, not cheapness or laziness.