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AbdouMaliq (2016) Attention to infrastructure offers a welcome reconfiguration of anthropological approaches to the political.

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In this article, I continue the anthropological interest in gifting. I trace the story of a historical failed gift of a South Indian woven mat to Queen Elizabeth II, which, in later accounts was transformed into a successful gift. Identifying this mythical successful gift as a “free gift” (following Jacques Derrida) reveals the power of descriptions in making relations. I argue that the transformation of an unsuccessful gift into a mythical free gift is a product of magnification and supplementation, with concomitant effects on forms of sociality and personhood. I also explore the relationship between gifts and commodities through a focus on what might be termed “inalienable” commodities.

I would like to thank Critique of Anthropology for its support of the Group for Debates in Anthropological Theory (GDAT). We are also grateful to C-SAP for enabling GDAT to subsidize graduate students from various UK universities to attend the meeting in Manchester. Thanks also to Social Anthropology at Manchester, the four speakers and the lively audience. Michael Cacioppo Belantara recorded the discussion, Aliaa Remtilla transcribed it and Michael Adkins did much of the running around.