14 Facts About Kula ring

Kula, known as the Kula exchange or Kula ring, is a ceremonial exchange system conducted in the Milne Bay Province of Papua New Guinea.

The Kula ring was made famous by the father of modern anthropology, Bronislaw Malinowski, who used this test case to argue for the universality of rational decision-making and for the cultural nature of the object of their effort.

Since then, the Kula ring has been central to the continuing anthropological debate on the nature of gift-giving, and the existence of gift economies.

The exchange of Kula ring valuables is accompanied by the trade in other items known as gimwali .

All Kula ring valuables are non-use items traded purely for purposes of enhancing one's social status and prestige.

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Right of participation in Kula ring exchange is not automatic; one has to "buy" one's way into it through participating in various lower spheres of exchange.

Also, Kula ring valuables are ranked according to value and age, as are the relationships that are created through their exchange.

Kula ring trade was organized differently in the more hierarchical parts of the Trobriand islands.

Fortune notes that Kula ring relationships are fragile, beset with various kinds of manipulation and deceit.

The Muyuw for example state that the only way to get ahead in Kula ring is to lie, commenting that deceit frequently causes Kula ring relationships to fall apart.

Kula ring is a classic example of Marcel Mauss' distinction between gift and commodity exchange.

The Kula ring, Mauss wrote, is not supposed to be conducted like gimwali.

Kula ring valuables are inalienable in the sense that they have to be returned to the original owner.

Kula ring's argues that the specific goods given, like Crown Jewels, are so identified with particular groups, that even when given, they are not truly alienated.