kula
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The **Kula Ring**, or **kula exchange**, refers to the gift exchange of shell valuables in the islands of the Massim, in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Partners exchange one of two different kinds of valuables, and receive the other kind of valuable in return. The two types of valuables are *mwali*, an armband fashioned from *Conus* shell, and *bagi* (or *soulava*), a necklace of discs made from red *Spondylus* shells. | The **Kula Ring**, or **kula exchange**, refers to the gift exchange of shell valuables in the islands of the Massim, in Milne Bay Province, Papua New Guinea. Partners exchange one of two different kinds of valuables, and receive the other kind of valuable in return. The two types of valuables are *mwali*, an armband fashioned from *Conus* shell, and *bagi* (or *soulava*), a necklace of discs made from red *Spondylus* shells. | ||
- | Partnerships in kula span islands and link different communities. For instance, a Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands) kula participant receives bagi from his partner in the south, on Dobu Island, and gives this bagi to another partner on Muyuw (Woodlark Island), to the east. In this way, kula valuables move in a ring from island to island, //bagi// moving in the opposite direction as //mwali//. | + | Partnerships in kula span islands and link different communities. For instance, a Kiriwina (Trobriand Islands) kula participant receives bagi from his partner in the south, on Dobu Island, and gives this bagi to another partner on Muyuw (Woodlark Island), to the east. Each valuable received must be [[reciprocity|reciprocated]] later by a valuable of the other type of similar size and prestige. In this way, kula valuables move in a ring from island to island, //bagi// moving in the opposite direction as //mwali//. |
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+ | Kula valuables are ranked according to size and the history of their movement from partner to partner around the ring. The most prestigious valuables are named, unique objects. They are supposed to move according to a ' | ||
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+ | ## References ## | ||
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+ | Malinowski, Bronislaw. 1932 [1922]. Argonauts of The Western Pacific: An Account of Native Enterprise and Adventure in the Archipelagoes of Melanesian New Guinea. London: George Routledge and Sons, Ltd. | ||
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+ | Mauss, Marcel. 2000 [1925]. The Gift: The Form and Reason for Exchange in Archaic Societies. Translated by W. D. Halls. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. | ||
- | Kula valuables are ranked according to size and the history of their movement from partner to partner around the ring. The most prestigious valuables are named, unique objects. They are supposed to move according to a ' |
kula.txt · Last modified: 2021/07/08 21:55 by Ryan Schram (admin)