Kula ring
The Kula ring is a traditional system of exchange practiced by residents of the Trobriand Islands and nearby regions in Papua New Guinea. This intricate trading network revolves around the exchange of two specific items: soulava, which are red shell necklaces, and mwali, which are white shell bracelets. These items hold significant cultural prestige, and their exchange is governed by a strict set of rules, with necklaces moving in a clockwise direction and bracelets counterclockwise, creating a cyclical trading relationship among participants. Historically, the Kula ring was predominantly a male activity, with lifelong partnerships established among traders, though contemporary practices have seen some women participating as well.
Kula exchanges often involve ceremonial aspects and serve to reinforce social relationships and status among the islanders. The journey to conduct these trades is fraught with danger, adding to the value of the exchange and the social bonds formed through it. Although the Kula ring remains a part of cultural life for some communities, its frequency has diminished in the twenty-first century, and some aspects, such as the exclusive male participation, have begun to change. Overall, the Kula ring represents not just an economic system but a vital social fabric that connects individuals and communities through shared rituals and mutual trust.
Kula ring
The kula ring is a strictly organized trading partnership system used by residents of the Trobriand Islands and some of their neighbors in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The twenty-eight coral islands of this group are part of the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea. This province includes seven island groups.
Items exchanged in the kula ring are not typical of trade because the islanders traded items that carried prestige and often held significance. Kula journeys also enabled travelers to barter other items on the trip. Despite the cultural importance of the kula ring exchange, the practice has become less frequent in the twenty-first century.
Background
The villagers of the reef islands farm cassava, sweet potato, taro, and yam. The largest island in this part of the Massim Archipelago, Kiriwina, has an airstrip, and it is home to the seat of government, Losuia. The other large islands are Kaileuna, Kitava, and Vakuta. Most people of the Trobriand Islands live in log-frame huts. A large yam house stands in the center of each village. Raw yams serve as a valuable trade crop. Each household has a food garden, but large fields provide the majority of the crops.
Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski brought attention to the islanders and their customs when he journeyed to New Guinea in 1914. He lived and worked in the Trobriand Islands in the late 1910s. His previous work among Indigenous peoples had left him dissatisfied with the traditional scientific approach. He felt the standardized method of interviewing subjects and relying on an interpreter to pose questions and translate answers stifled his investigations. To overcome these obstacles, Malinowski learned the Trobrianders' language and decided to become involved in his subjects' daily lives. He lived in a tent in the villages—where islanders lived in huts—and slowly became part of village life. As his presence became accepted, he interacted with the people and participated in everyday activities. His immersive methods and reports led to the development of social anthropology.
Malinowski wrote extensively about the Trobrianders. He described their matrilineal and clan-based social structure. Villagers farm yams and work together. Each village has a headman, though a chief or high-ranking headman might be the leader of multiple villages. Among Trobriander communities, wealth is important and confers power.
Malinowski published the book Argonauts of the Western Pacific in 1922. He described the islanders' economic system, called the kula ring or kula exchange, in this work. Malinowski likened the kula exchange to the quest of the mythological Jason and the Argonauts, who journeyed in search of the Golden Fleece.
The islanders' society evolved to emphasize the giving of gifts. A married man, for example, is obligated to give a significant portion of his yam harvest to his wife's brother. Men are also required to give tithes to their chiefs, who might give gifts to people under their protection. While yams are a food crop, they are also important gifts. The father of a married woman establishes a garden for his daughter after her first year of marriage. Upon harvest, the yams are delivered to the woman with great ceremony.
Overview
The kula system is the trade of two types of valuable items. Soulava are long necklaces of red shell discs. Mwali are white shell bracelets or armbands. The necklaces travel clockwise through the system, and they are given with the left hand. The bracelets are given with the right hand, and they travel counterclockwise. In this way, on a return kula trip, a person who received a necklace from someone gives that individual a bracelet. The necklace does not remain with the recipient, however; it is given to another trading partner (in the clockwise path), and eventually, the person who received it reciprocates by giving a bracelet (in the counterclockwise path).
The trading system is strictly organized. Each kula trading cycle, which may last from two to five years, is called a keda. Kula participants may number in the thousands. In the past, only men could participate in the trade cycle. Each participant has trading partners, or karayta'u, in nearby and distant islands and conducts the kula trade only with those clockwise and counterclockwise systems. These partnerships are lifelong and may be passed down, but a partner may reject any heirs if they do not conduct themselves well. A participant may personally deliver kula to partners on nearby islands but entrusts the transaction to a representative for more distant exchanges. Some exchanges involve traditional ceremonies and rituals. The kula items may only be in an individual's possession for a customary period. Many kula items are valued for their histories as well as their beauty.
The value of the kula trade lies in part in the danger to the travelers. The traders travel in large ceremonial canoes, or wagas, for sometimes hundreds of miles across the open water. Weather and hazardous coastlines could destroy the canoes and kill the passengers. The kula ring was dangerous, and reaching the desired destination signified a significant accomplishment. This made the kula trade valuable. The kula system also enforces interpersonal relationships. When entering a kula partner's territory, the trader is under the partner's protection; this was important in the past when groups might be at war and when dealing with groups that practiced cannibalism on war prisoners.
The arrival of a kula exchange party is treated with ritual hostility. The hosts pretend the visitors are unwelcome, and the visitors behave likewise aggressively. The visitors offer gifts to encourage the hosts to welcome them. Their arrival is offered as proof of their vigor and the powerful protection they have against danger. This shows the visitors in a good light to their hosts.
Kula trade is about relationships. Partners develop trust in one another, and they are able to increase their own social status through kula trade, especially when a particularly coveted item comes into their possession. The kula ring connects people and opens communication. Kula trade visits encourage socialization, when visitors are welcomed, and the hosts prepare and serve feasts. New trade relationships may be formed. New partners, however, do not exchange kula gifts until their second cycle.
In modern times, the kula ring is still practiced in some communities. Other groups have abandoned the practice. The tradition of limiting kula partnerships to men has also been eroded, and some women have begun to exchange kula. The intangible value of kula objects has also been affected, and some have been sold in marketplaces.
Bibliography
"Collection Online: Armlet." The British Museum, www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection‗online/collection‗object‗details.aspx?objectId=3531081&partId=1&searchText=kula&place=17143&page=1. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
"Collection Online: Necklace." The British Museum, www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection‗online/collection‗object‗details.aspx?objectId=3529902&partId=1&people=37745&peoA=37745-3-7&page=7. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
“Kula Ring: An Exploration of Reciprocity and Social Organization.” Easy Sociology, 21 Apr. 2024, easysociology.com/general-sociology/kula-ring-an-exploration-of-reciprocity-and-social-organization. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
"Papua New Guinea." Lonely Planet, www.lonelyplanet.com/papua-new-guinea/central-oro-and-milne-bay-provinces/kiriwina-island. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Landa, Janet T. The Enigma of the Kula Ring: Markets, Gift-Exchanges and Primitive Law and Order. Institute for Policy Analysis, University of Toronto, 1981.
Malinowski, Bronislaw. Argonauts of the Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. Routledge, 1922/2002.
Millard, Will. "Kula Ring Blog." BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3Q4RS42nDKWr8Wkz5VYBlSf/kula-ring-blog. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.
Raffaele, Paul. "Sleeping with Cannibals." Smithsonian Magazine, Sept. 2006, www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/sleeping-with-cannibals-128958913. Accessed 11 Dec. 2024.