Off the eastern tip of New Guinea, in an archipelago of coral and volcanic islands, one of the most studied exchange systems in the history of anthropology has taken place for generations: the kula. Men from different islands undertake long canoe voyages to exchange shell necklaces and armshells that are hardly ever worn, are not sold and are not kept forever. To understand why, we must enter a world in which value does not coincide with usefulness.
Malinowski and the "Argonauts"
The kula is known above all thanks to Bronisław Malinowski, the Polish-born anthropologist who lived for long periods in the Trobriand Islands during the First World War. In 1922 he published Argonauts of the Western Pacific, a book describing the kula in unprecedented detail and inaugurating the method of prolonged fieldwork, living among the people studied and learning their language.
The title recalls the Argonauts of Greek myth: the Trobriand navigators, too, set out to sea in search of precious objects, facing real and imaginary dangers.
Two objects, two directions
The kula is based on two types of valuables:
| Object | Name | Material | Direction of movement |
|---|---|---|---|
| necklace | soulava | red shell discs | clockwise around the circuit |
| armshell | mwali | worked white shell | anticlockwise |
The islands taking part in the kula form a great ring. The necklaces travel one way, the armshells the other: whoever receives a necklace will in due course give back an armshell, and vice versa. No object stays long in the same hands.
Possessing without keeping
Whoever receives a kula object does not become its permanent owner. They keep it for a while, enjoy its prestige, then pass it on to another partner. The most famous objects have their own names, histories and genealogies of holders. Having held them, even briefly, is a source of fame.
The kula thus creates lasting relationships between partners on different islands, often inherited and maintained for a lifetime. The value lies not in the object itself but in its passage and in the network of relations it builds.
Alongside the kula there is ordinary trade, called gimwali, in which food, pots, tools and other goods are exchanged. The Trobrianders carefully distinguish the two: haggling in a kula exchange would be considered shameful.
Magic in the kula
One of the richest aspects of Malinowski's account is the role of magic. Each phase of the kula is accompanied by specific spells and rites.
- Building the canoe: from felling the tree to decorating the prows, every moment requires spells for the strength, speed and beauty of the vessel.
- Navigation: formulas to protect sailors from storms, shipwreck and dangerous sea creatures.
- Beauty and persuasion magic: before meeting their partners, the men wash, adorn themselves and recite spells so that their faces appear attractive and the partner is well disposed to part with the best objects.
Malinowski observed that magic did not replace technical skill: the Trobrianders were skilled builders and navigators. Magic came in above all where the outcome remained uncertain, on the open sea, in luck, in the will of others.
The gift and reciprocity
The kula profoundly influenced twentieth-century social thought. In 1925 the French sociologist Marcel Mauss, in his Essay on the Gift, placed it alongside other institutions such as the potlatch of North America to show that in many societies exchange is not merely economic: the gift creates obligations, bonds and honour. Giving, receiving and reciprocating are three duties that hold a society together.
The kula today
The kula is not a relic of the past: it still exists, though transformed. Sailing canoes coexist with motorboats, and the network of partners has adapted to the changes of island life. But the principle remains the same: a precious object is valuable because it circulates.
In short
- The kula is a ceremonial exchange circuit among the islands of eastern Melanesia.
- Soulava necklaces and mwali armshells travel in opposite directions and are not kept forever.
- Malinowski described it in 1922 in Argonauts of the Western Pacific.
- Magic accompanies canoes, navigation and encounters, where the outcome is uncertain.
- Mauss saw in it an example of the logic of the gift and reciprocity.
