Concentric dualism as transition between a lineal and cyclic representation of life and death in Scandinavian mythology

Abstract

In an important and interesting essay, Claude L?vi-Strauss (1956)1 corrected a distinction he had previously made (1949) between the two forms of reciprocity, generalized exchange and restricted exchange. Instead of considering these forms as completely different, he poses that it is more reasonable and efficient from a logical point of view to deal with restricted exchange as a special case of generalized exchange. This correction enables him to explain why systems that are characterized by restricted exchange often show many features that we would not expect to find there and that belong rather with a system of generalized exchange. These features can be considered as traces of a transition from the one form to the other, a transition that has not been actualized completely and that has succeeded in creating a system of restricted exchange only in certain respects. Restricted exchange is characterized by a dual organization in which there is symmetrical reciprocity between the two elements. Generalized exchange, on the other hand, exists between at least three elements and is characterized by asymmetry. The transition from the latter form to the former can be observed in spatial concepts. The triadism of generalized exchange changes into the diametric dualism of restricted exchange through the transitional form of concentric dualism. This latter spatial concept is dyadic but also asymmetric, and because of this occupies a place in between the other two forms. In many so-called dual organizations we find a mixture of these different concepts. Together they constitute an overall system in which every arrangement has its place. L?vi-Strauss (1960) has made it clear that this overall system transcends the level of a single cultural aspect. In this system the marriage relations as well as the social structure, the spatial organi zation, the religious concepts, etc., all have their place. The theoretical