The World of Reciprocity: Forms of Social Capital among the Indigenous Totonacs of the Sierra Norte de Puebla

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

In my opinion,. the most original part of the paper is the second one, in which the author discusses the meaning of various Totonac terms regarding the semantic field of gift-reciprocity. They show that the author possesses an intimate acquaintance with Totonac culture. A closer link should be established with the modern concept of social capital presented in the beginning. On the other hand, the two lengthy tables between  line 189 and 192 about « factors affecting social capital » and « factors that weaken social cohesion » are too general, too heterogeneous and too superficial to be of much help in understanding the Totonac 'world of reciprocity'. I propose the relevant elements from this part should be critically integrated in the discussion about the Totonac concepts of the second part ; the other elements should simply be forgotten. A factual note : Tosepan tomin(line 146)  is a Savings Bank which part of a large regional organization called Union de Cooperativas Tosepan, which includes thousands of Nahua an Totonac farmers.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

In my opinion,. the most original part of the paper is the second one, in which the author discusses the meaning of various Totonac terms regarding the semantic field of gift-reciprocity. They show that the author possesses an intimate acquaintance with Totonac culture. A closer link should be established with the modern concept of social capital presented in the beginning. On the other hand, the two lengthy tables between  line 189 and 192 about « factors affecting social capital » and « factors that weaken social cohesion » are too general, too heterogeneous and too superficial to be of much help in understanding the Totonac 'world of reciprocity'. I propose the relevant elements from this part should be critically integrated in the discussion about the Totonac concepts of the second part ; the other elements should simply be forgotten. A factual note : Tosepan tomin(line 146)  is a Savings Bank which part of a large regional organization called Union de Cooperativas Tosepan, which includes thousands of Nahua an Totonac farmers.

Response to reviewer 1:

The modern view of social capital was expanded, refining and broadening the concept of social capital by considering also its negative aspect (Lines: 43-64), in this logic social capital is refined and explained with reference to Western culture considering the historical context and the associated social practices (Lines: 79-94). Following the recommendation of the two tables, both were reworked and their association was strengthened in support of the associated findings (Lines: 244-248). The elements pointed out by the reviewer are critically integrated into the discussion (Lines: 371-388).

Reviewer 2 Report

The article has its merits but to be accepted it needs to improve the following aspects:

1) The state of the art is very weak so it needs to be substantially improved.

2) It is necessary to explain what is the new knowledge obtained from this research, regarding the current state of the art of science about the production and reproduction of social capital.

3) What is the theoretical support to choose the dimensions of negative and positive social capital?

4) What are the social specificities of the Sierra Norte de Puebla that sustain that the Totonac people are a different producer and reproducer of social capital having Western culture as the conceptual reference?

5) In which kind of cultural worldview should social science inscribe the Totonac people? In which ways do they differ from other indigenous people that exist in the world and why?

6) How the results of this article should be interpreted regarding previous studies?

7) Departing from the Incident factors exposed in Tables 1 and 2, conceptualize them in terms of social capital and cohesion for theoretical improvement of social sciences. 

8) In the Conclusion, elaborate more on how social capital could be a way to preserve the ecological environment, a very stressful problem for western culture.

9) Be more explicit in finding common and differentiated grounds between Totonac and western culture, but do not forget to conceptualize in the state of the art that inside the western culture the sources, producers, and reproducers of social capital are not homogenous.

10) Linked to point 9, briefly elaborate on the concept of reciprocity in Western culture, and how it becomes different from the worldview of the Totonac culture.

11) The abstract needs to be improved, in order to be more incisive/explicit about the structure of the article.

Author Response

Reviewer 2

The article has its merits but to be accepted it needs to improve the following aspects:

• The state of the art is very weak so it needs to be substantially improved.

Answer: the state of the art was improved (lines 32-64 y lines 79-94)

• It is necessary to explain what is the new knowledge obtained from this research, regarding the current state of the art of science about the production and reproduction of social capital.

Answer: para atender esta recomendación se incorporó un párrafo en la sección de discusión (lines 371-388).

• What is the theoretical support to choose the dimensions of negative and positive social capital?

Answer: this recommendation is addressed point 1 (lines. 48-64)

• What are the social specificities of the Sierra Norte de Puebla that sustain that the Totonac people are a different producer and reproducer of social capital having Western culture as the conceptual reference?

Answer: this recommendation is addressed point 1

• In which kind of cultural worldview should social science inscribe the Totonac people? In which ways do they differ from other indigenous people that exist in the world and why?

Answer: this recommendation is addressed point 1 (lines. 78-94)

• How the results of this article should be interpreted regarding previous studies?

Answer: the tables were re-elaborated for a better interpretation of the results.

• Departing from the Incident factors exposed in Tables 1 and 2, conceptualize them in terms of social capital and cohesion for theoretical improvement of social sciences. 

Answer: the tables were reworked for a better interpretation of the results, improving logic and coherence.

• In the Conclusion, elaborate more on how social capital could be a way to preserve the ecological environment, a very stressful problem for western culture.

Answer: this section was improved

• Be more explicit in finding common and differentiated grounds between Totonac and western culture, but do not forget to conceptualize in the state of the art that inside the western culture the sources, producers, and reproducers of social capital are not homogenous.

Answer: this recommendation is addressed by points 1 and 2.

• Linked to point 9, briefly elaborate on the concept of reciprocity in Western culture, and how it becomes different from the worldview of the Totonac culture.

Answer: this recommendation is addressed by points 1 and 2.

• The abstract needs to be improved, in order to be more incisive/explicit about the structure of the article.

Answer: the abstract was improved according to the reviewer's recommendation.

Round 2

Reviewer 2 Report

I think the article is now better and could be published.

It is better to revise the English.