I

The subject of which this book treats and the material at our disposal are nearly exhausted. In describing the Southern branch of the Kula (between Sinaketa and Dobu) I entered into the details of its rules and associated aspects, and almost all that was said there refers to the Kula as a whole. In speaking of the N.E. branch of the Kula, which I am now about to describe, there will not therefore be very much new to tell. All the general rules of exchange and types of behaviour are the same as those previously defined. Here we have also big uvalaku expeditions and small, non-ceremonial sailings. The type of partnership between Kiriwinians and Kitavans is the same here, as the one obtaining within the Trobriands, and described in the last chapter. For the natives of the Eastern islands, from Kitava to Woodlark, have the same social organisation and the same culture as the Trobrianders, and speak the same language with dialectical differences only. Never any but friendly relations have obtained between them and many people are united by bonds of real kinship across the seas, for there have been migrations between the districts, and marriages are also not infrequent. Thus the general relations between overseas partners are different here from those between Sinaketa and Dobu. The visiting is not associated with any deep apprehensions, there is no ka’ubana’i (danger magic), and the relations between the visitors and hosts are much more free and easy and intimate. The rest of the Kula magic (except the ka’ubana’i) is identical With that in the South, and indeed much of it, as used all over Boyowa, has been received from the Kitavans. Many of the preliminary customs and arrangements of the Kula, the preparation of the canoes, ceremonial launching and kabigidoya are the same here. In fact, the launching described in Chapter VI was the one I saw on the beach of Omarakana.

On the actual expeditions, much of the ceremonial and all the rules of the Kula gifts, as well as of the pari and talo’i, the initial and farewell presents, are the same as in the South-Western branch of the Kula. The best plan will be to tell the story of a typical uvalaku expedition from Kiriwina to Kitava, noting the similarities and emphasising the differences, while one or two points of divergence will claim our special attention. There is a small, but interesting incident called youlawada, a custom which allows a visiting party to attack and damage the house ornaments of a man, to whom they bring a gift. Another important speciality of this Eastern Kula is the association of a mortuary feast called so’i with particularly abundant distributions of vaygu’a.

I had opportunities of collecting notes about the North-Eastern Kula and of making observations during my residence in Omarakana, in 1915–1916. I saw several expeditions from Kitava arrive on the beach, and camp for a few days. To’uluwa went twice to Kitava, and his return from one of these visits has been described in the last chapter. He also once started for an expedition there, of which I was a member. There was a change of wind, some time in September, and with the North wind which we hoped would last for a few hours, it would have been possible to cross to Kitava and to return at our pleasure with the prevailing South-Easterly. Half-way to our goal, the wind changed and we had to return, to my great disappointment, though this gave me a good example of the entire dependence of the natives on the weather. Unfortunately, To’uluwa got it into his head that I had brought him bad luck, and so when he planned his next trip, I was not taken into his confidence or allowed to form one of the party. Two years later, when I lived in Oburaka, about half-way between the Northern and Southernmost end of Boyowa, several expeditions from Kitava visited Wawela, a village lying across on the other side of the island, which here is no more than a mile and a half wide; and one or two expeditions left from Wawela for Kitava. The only big expedition which came under my notice was the uvalaku which was to leave some time in April or May, 1916, from Kiriwina to the East. I saw only the preparatory stages, of which the launching was described in Chapter VII.

Let us imagine that we follow the course of this Kiriwinian uvalaku. The first general intimation that it would take place, came after one of the visits which To’ulawa made to Kitava. He had heard there that a considerable quantity of armshells was soon to come to the island, for, as we shall see by the end of this Chapter, such big, concerted movements of valuables along the ring take place from time to time. To’ulawa then and there made arrangements with his chief partner, Kwaywaya, to make an uvalaku, which was to be the means of carrying on the big movement of the mwali. On his return to Omarakana, when the headmen of the other Kiriwinian villages assembled, the plans of the uvalaku were talked over and details arranged. Even in olden days, before the chief’s power was undermined, though he used to take the initiative, and give decisions in important matters, he had to put the case before the other headmen, and listen to what they had to say. Their opinions on the occasion of which we are speaking, would hardly ever be in contradiction to his wishes, and it was decided without much discussion to make the uvalaku in about six months’ time. Soon after, the rebuilding or refitting of the canoes began, in the manner previously described. The only slight difference in the preparations between Kiriwina and Sinaketa lies in the preliminary trade. The Kiriwinians have to go inland to the industrial districts of Kuboma, and they go there every man on his own account, to acquire the articles needed.

It will be best to say here at once all that is necessary about the trade between Kiriwina and Kitava. As these two districts are geologically and in other respects much more similar to one another than Sinaketa and Dobu are, the trade is not of such vital importance, with one notable exception, as we shall see. The articles of subsidiary trade, which a Kiriwinian expedition would carry with them to Kitava, are the following:—wooden combs; various classes of lime pots; armlets, plaited of fern fibre; turtle-shell earrings; mussel shell; coils of lashing creeper (wayugo); plaited fern belts, made originally in the d’Entrecasteaux. Of these articles, the most important are probably the mussel shells, used for scraping and as knives, the various kinds of lime pots, which are a speciality of Kuboma, and last, but not least, the wayugo. I am not quite certain as to whether this creeper is not to be found in Kitava, but as it grows only on marshy soil, it is hardly probable that it would thrive on a high, raised, coral island. In that case, the creeper is certainly the most indispensable of all the trade articles imported into Kitava from the Trobriands.

The Trobrianders import from the smaller islands a class of grass skirt made of coco-nut leaves; exceptionally well finished urn-shaped baskets; small hand-baskets; specially bleached pandanus mats; ornaments made of fragments of conus shell; certain classes of cowrie shell, used for ornamenting belts; ebony lime spatulæ; ebony walking staves; sword-clubs carved in ebony; and an aromatic black paint, made of charred sandal wood. None of these articles is of vital importance, as all of them, though perhaps in slightly different or even inferior quality, are manufactured or found in the Trobriands.

There was one article, however, which, in the olden days, was of surpassing utility to the Trobriand natives, and which they could obtain only from Kitava, though it came originally from further East, from Murua (Woodlark Island). These were the kukumali, or roughly shaped pieces of green-stone, which were then polished in the Trobriands, and in this state used as stone implements, while the biggest of them, very large and thin and well polished all over, became a specially important class of vaygu’a (articles of high value). Although the practical use of stone implements has naturally been done away with by the introduction of steel and iron, the beku (valuable axe blades) have still an undiminished, indeed, an increased value, as the white traders have to use them for purchasing pearls from the natives. It is important to note that although all the raw material for these stone implements and valuables had to be imported from Kitava, the finished valuables were and are re-exported again, as Kiriwina is still the main polishing district.

As to the manner in which the trade was done between the Kiriwinians and Kitavans, all that has been said previously on the subject of inter-tribal trade holds good; part of the goods carried were given as presents, part of them were exchanged with non-partners, some were gifts received from the partners on leaving.