The central theme of the thesis is the way in which cultural ideas and institutions are transposed by labour migrants from their country of origin to their country of immigration, to form a unique cultural complex, as new modes of behaviour develop in response to the labour migration situation. I take up the interrelated themes of ritual and social exchange and show how a central form of exchange - that of sacrifice or ’excessive’ giving - relates to the creation of trust between Pakistani labour migrants. Secondly, Pakistanis operate with sharply defined notions of hierarchy and equality, and I discuss how these influence friendship and marriage patterns. Caste mobility is a prevalent phenomenon among some migrants in Manchester, and is associated with an increase in religiosity. By contrast, friendships cut across caste divisions, but are more clearly related to socio-economic status and migrants’ areas of origin in Pakistan. Different sections of the community lead different lifestyles, and this is shown to be crucial to an appreciation of a series of interrelated factors: conjugal roles, social and geographical mobility, incapsulation, economic behaviour and network ’shapes’. Hence, the notion of a lifestyle is a central one in the thesis and forms the main theme of Part 11. In Part 1,1 discuss residential settlement in the city,the cognitive mapping and categories migrants operate with, and ritual behaviour. I then go on in ?art 11 to discuss ceremonial exchange and its relation to other forms of transactional behaviour, and compare the lifestyles led in the various sections of the community. Finally, I draw the various themes together in a chapter on voluntary associations in which I show how stratification affects the organization of the community and of its central institutions, and how it is also related to the central idea of "giving" - of giving in the name of God, to charity, or of personal sacrifice.