Abstract
We can define symbols as ''something that stands for something else'' and that would mean that symbols are always a reflection of something. Given that definition, we can say that the aim of the anthropological studies of symbols is to find the meaning of symbols and what they reflect. If I was to elaborate on the definition of symbols I would say that they are shared by all the member of one community and that the meaning of the symbols stops where the community ends. That would mean that the symbols can define and make a link between ?communities of meaning''. However if we look at these relationships between a community and its symbols we may wonder if the symbols that are specific of a society also reflect it. Thus we wonder if symbols can be the reflectors of social values and relationships, and if this is always true. Can we thus study symbols as something specific to a cultural and social context or as something universal. Can we guess the nature of a society by studying its symbols?
