Feasting, in other words, provides an important mechanism for bonding. And it works at two separate levels. Casual eating and drinking with close family and friends reinforces these close bonds, while the occasional large, more formal feast involving many people creates bonds within the wider community. Both are important in their different ways. The first strengthens the close alliances that protect us both from the stresses of living in large communities by providing us with those reliable shoulders to cry on. That’s why eating and drinking with close friends needs to be done regularly. The
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