FARNHAM REHFISCH Université de Khartoum Competitive Gift Exchange among the Mambila1 The importance of gift-giving in the establishment of political and social relationships in number of societies has long been recognised by anthropologists and the element of competition inherent in these exchanges has not been ignored To the best of my knowledge instances of dyadic relationships characterised by competitive gift- exchange have not been recorded for any West African society Among the Mambila-speaking peoples of the former British Cameroons relationships of this type are of considerable social significance The aim of this paper is to describe the way in which these are establish ed maintained and developed through time to give an account of both large and small scale gift distribution and finally to analyse some of the sociological implications of this institution in Mambila society with special reference to the village structure The effect of this institution on inter-village relationships will not be dealt with here The Mambila live in Adamawa Province on what is called the Mambila Plateau They number approximately 18000 and live in autonomous villages with populations ranging from roughly 200 to 2000 persons Most villages have secular chief an office introduced under the Native Authority system All villages are subdivided into hamlets each with its own headman an indigenous office The incumbent is always the oldest male resident hamlet includes number of compound clusters made up of from two to six compounds in spatial proximity one to the other some of whose male members are usually kin The residents unite for certain ritual and secular pur-