On the Value of Teasing
By teasing me about these things they show me that these elements of my character are out in the open; I don’t have to try to hide them. The people I care most about already know these things about me, find them amusing, and accept me despite the flaws. To know someone well is to know their weaknesses as well as strengths, and teasing can be a playful way of expressing that knowledge and thereby reinforcing the friendship. The flaws, to the real friend, can even be endearing, as long as they’re not too egregious.
.. For example, hunter-gatherers everywhere engage in a practice that anthropologists refer to as “insulting the meat.” When a hunter brings a fat antelope or other prize kill back to the band, for everyone to share, he must act humbly about it. He must say that the animal is skinny, hardly worth bothering with. He must say that he killed it through sheer luck, or because of the fine arrow that someone else had made and lent him, or because it was sickly and an easy mark, or all of these things. If he acts even the slightest bit arrogant about his hunting, others will mock both him and the meat he has brought them