Ryan Schram's Anthrocyclopaedia

Anthropology presentations and learning resources

User Tools

Site Tools

You are here: start » kula
kula

Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

Link to this comparison view

Both sides previous revisionPrevious revision
Next revision		Previous revision
kula [2021/06/28 22:07] – Ryan Schram (admin)kula [2021/07/08 21:55] (current) – [References] Ryan Schram (admin)
Line 1: Line 1:
-# Kula +# Kula 
- +
-<WRAP box right 35%>~~SIMILAR~~</WRAP>+
  
 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. 
Line 9: Line 7:
 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 'road' (*keda*) among a set of prestigious, experienced kula partners; ideally, a valuable should travel its road, from hand to hand, around the ring, and return back--perhaps years later--to the hand of the same person. This particular feature of kula exchange was important for the anthropologist [[Bronislaw Malinowski]], who wrote the seminal account of kula in his book *The Argonauts of the Western Pacific* (1932 [1922]). For Malinowski, kula exchange was distinct from trade or barter. Unlike these forms of exchange, kula was ceremonial, formal exchange among an elite group. While it was itself not economic in nature, it facilitated peaceable relations among distinct groups and made it possible for them to trade, as well as gave the participants a venue for competing for their own prestige. This view of kula as a ritual of exchange governed by strict rules in turn influenced [[Marcel Mauss]] in his development of a theory of the gift (2000 [1925]). For Mauss, kula was an example of a system of total services, because the rules bound partners together and regulated the movement of valuables. 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 'road' (*keda*) among a set of prestigious, experienced kula partners; ideally, a valuable should travel its road, from hand to hand, around the ring, and return back--perhaps years later--to the hand of the same person. This particular feature of kula exchange was important for the anthropologist [[Bronislaw Malinowski]], who wrote the seminal account of kula in his book *The Argonauts of the Western Pacific* (1932 [1922]). For Malinowski, kula exchange was distinct from trade or barter. Unlike these forms of exchange, kula was ceremonial, formal exchange among an elite group. While it was itself not economic in nature, it facilitated peaceable relations among distinct groups and made it possible for them to trade, as well as gave the participants a venue for competing for their own prestige. This view of kula as a ritual of exchange governed by strict rules in turn influenced [[Marcel Mauss]] in his development of a theory of the gift (2000 [1925]). For Mauss, kula was an example of a system of total services, because the rules bound partners together and regulated the movement of valuables.
  
-## References ##+## References 
  
 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. 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.
  
 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. 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.
 +
 +-----
 +
 +<WRAP box similar>~~SIMILAR~~</WRAP> 
  
kula.1624943251.txt.gz · Last modified: 2021/06/28 22:07 by Ryan Schram (admin)