Forever A san man can have intimate knowledge about us as individuals and as households, even though we shudder at the thought. His work mocks our desire for a safe, fantasy non-place for our garbage. But we resent him for a deeper reason. He betrays the possibility of permanent existence for every and any material object ever created, and thus he betrays the illusion that we can impose enduring meaning on our material lives. In this way, inalienable possessions are transcendent treasures to be guarded against all the exigencies that might force their loss.
Inalienable possessions stand against the ravages of time and change.
They are meant to endure. Central to inalienability is an object's transferability, since it must succeed its original owners across time. Younger family members learn songs, stories, and other forms of oral history. Particular pieces of jewelry are passed down, as are land, family legends, and sometimes furniture, often for generations. An inalienable possession may leave the hand of the original owner, but that owner's claim to it is not diminished.