Stephen Mounawa displays his haul of mwali, shell armlets that form an integral part of the ancient kula trade
Meeting a kula trader on Fergusson Island
Just back from a four-week kula trading expedition to the Trobriand Islands, Stephen Mounawa gave us an insight into the intricacies of the kula exchange and showed us his recent haul of mwali, as Chris Shorrock explains.
Kula Trade: Trading done slow
Stephen Mounawa’s kula canoe was pulled up between his pandanus-thatched hut and the muddy shore of the Dobu Passage, drying off after its recent three-day voyage back from Kiriwina in the Trobriands. It’s a journey that can be made in a matter of hours with an outboard motor. But for the kula trade, there are specific rules that must be followed. It can’t be rushed.
The days of pandanus-leaf sails are fading, and Stephen now uses a ‘normal’ sail. But an outboard motor would still be a huge step too far. He carved the mammoth seven-metre-plus canoe ten years ago, give or take, when the old one began to rot. The intricately carved prow board sits in pride of place, garishly painted at the head of the behemoth.
The prow board depicts a woman at the top, with her ‘opening’ and ovaries further down. Trubert, our guide from Deidei Guesthouse, explained this is their ‘goddess’, and Waiyaki Semani from Sibonai Guesthouse advised us it acts as protection for the voyage. Women are not allowed on the kula canoe and must remain at home, where they provide security for the journey from a distance.
Kula trade canoes are hand carved from a single tree
The intricately carved prow boards of the kula trade canoes provide spiritual protection on long voyages
Return of the trader
Returning only the day before our visit, the magical protection these traditional sailors rely upon had obviously served them well; Stephen and his four fellow traders returned safely and laden with treasures from a successful three-week stay on Kiriwina. The visit involved as much feasting and socialising as the requisite trading.
Bringing the mwali back to Fergusson
Stephen and his fellow traders had returned with a massive haul of mwali, exchanged for the bagi they left on Kiriwina. Mwali and bagi are the traditional valuables exchanged as part of the kula trade.
Mwali are giant and elaborately decorated shell armlets. They are ‘male’ and can only be worn by men (although they are seldom worn and often don’t fit the holder).
Stephen showing us the mwali he traded for on Kiriwina Island
Bagi are shell necklaces, often more than a metre long, made of tiny cylindrical red shells strung together and embellished with feathers, seeds and other larger shells. These are ‘female’ and are worn by women.
The kula ring
These traditional valuables are exchanged through an invisible circle linking the islands of Milne Bay Province, especially the Trobriands, Fergusson, Normanby and Woodlark Islands, as well as many of the smaller islands in between. Traders in the kula ring are connected with specific trading partners throughout these islands. As a result, close bonds are formed between trading partners that last a lifetime.
In this circular exchange system, mwali are traded in an anticlockwise direction for bagi, which flow in a clockwise direction. Stephen will variably sail in each direction, sometimes trading on nearby Duao (Normanby Island), at other times sailing to Kiriwina, and even as far afield as Woodlark Island, a week’s sail from Fergusson Island.
Bagi, which Stephen is displaying here, are exchanged for mwali as part of the kula trade
Traders like Stephen don't own the mwali, the names of the owners are inscribed in black marker and these are usually the makers of the piece
In the Kula Trade, value is measured differently
To the untrained eye, the most valuable pieces could be considered worn out or past their best. However, Stephen explained that the older the mwali or bagi and the more it has been traded, the greater its value. With three levels of value, as a village chief, Stephen often gets the most valuable and famous items, with yellowy-brown armlet shells showing the pieces’ age.
A trader, but not an owner
Many of Stephen’s mwali were incongruously scrawled with names written in black marker-pen, and he explained these were the names of the owners of each valuable. The original makers of the pieces retain ownership even as their valuables are traded throughout the islands of Milne Bay. The kula trade participants merely hold it for a time before it is traded onward in the endless kula ring.
Not just treasures to trade
The kula trade is not just a symbolic trade in traditional valuables; it facilitates social interaction across Milne Bay’s vast stretches of ocean, fostering common values and social cohesion. More common trade goods also accompany the kula traders, including foodstuffs, clay pots and buai, or betel nut.
Buai
Chewed near-continuously in PNG, betel nut is grown across the islands of Milne Bay Province. It is chewed alongside a mustard stick dipped in lime powder and acts as a stimulant. Without teeth, Stephen spent our entire visit mashing buai, mustard stick and lime powder together in an intricately carved ebony receptacle and sucking the resultant mess off the end of his black palm pounder.
Stephen mashing buai on Fergusson Island
Canoe making on Fergusson Island
After saying goodbye to Stephen, we returned to Deidei Guesthouse along the island ‘road’. On a homestead by the shore, a man was busy carving a new outrigger for his fishing canoe. A kula canoe sat nearby, under a thatched awning at the water’s edge, ready for another trading journey in the endless kula ring.