IV

Now, having come to an end of this digression on kaloma, let us return for another short while to our Sinaketan party, whom we have left on the Lagoon of Sanaroa. Having obtained a sufficient amount of the shells, they set sail, and re-visiting Tewara and Gumasila, stopping perhaps for a night on one of the sandbanks of Pilolu, they arrive at last in their home Lagoon. But before rejoining their people in their villages, they stop for the last halt on Muwa. Here they make what is called tanarere, a comparison and display of the valuables obtained on this trip. From each canoe, a mat or two are spread on the sand beach, and the men put their necklaces on the mat. Thus a long row of valuables lies on the beach, and the members of the expedition walk up and down, admire, and count them. The chiefs would, of course, have always the greatest haul, more especially the one who has been the toli’uvalaku on that expedition.

After this is over, they return to the village. Each canoe blows its conch shell, a blast for each valuable that it contains. When a canoe has obtained no vaygu’a at all, this means great shame and distress for its members, and especially for the toliwaga. Such a canoe is said to bisikureya, which means literally ‘to keep a fast.’

On the beach all the villagers are astir. The women, who have put on their new grass petticoats (sevata’i) specially made for this occasion, enter the water and approach the canoes to unload them. No special greetings pass between them and their husbands. They are interested in the food brought from Dobu, more especially in the sago.

People from other villages assemble also in great numbers to greet the incoming party. Those who have supplied their friends or relatives with provisions for their journey, receive now sago, betel-nuts and coco-nuts in repayment. Some of the welcoming crowd have come in order to make Kula. Even from the distant districts of Luba and Kiriwina natives will travel to Sinaketa, having a fair idea of the date of the arrival of the Kula party from Dobu. The expedition will be talked over, the yield counted, the recent history of the important valuables described. But this stage leads us already into the subject of inland Kula, which will form the subject of one of the following chapters.