Kula

Kula, also known as the kula exchange or kula ring, is a ceremonial exchange system amongst various islands in Melanesia including the Trobriand Islands.

In this system of exchange necklaces made of shell discs and armbands made of shell are exchanged, each type for the other type so that the two types circulate in roughly opposite directions, between two partners in a complex web of exchange partnerships. Several thousand items are circulated, each having a different degree of prestige. The (temporary) possession of a prestigious item brings prestige upon the possessor. Conversely, the prestige of a possessor influences the prestige of items temporarily in that person's possession. The individual, unique, possession histories of each item are carefully tracked and recounted during exchange ceremonies.

Other Kulas

Places commonly named Kula

• Kula — a district of East Maui in Hawaii.
• Kula — a city in Vojvodina (Serbia and Montenegro).

References

• "Kula: the standard model." Notes for reading Bronislaw Malinowski, Argonauts of the Western Pacific (1922). Accessed on March 14, 2005. This in turn cites