essay
What moves the Kula: opening and closing gifts on Woodlark Island
Kula : new perspectives on Massim exchange • Cambridge • Published In 1983 • Pages: 309-342
By: Damon, Frederick H..
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is a study of the nature of the relationship between [n]vags[/n] (opening gifts) and [n]gulugwals[/n] (return gifts), stressing their equivalency and noting how they may be transformed into [n]kitoums[/n] (personally owned valuables) in the context of the [n]kula[/n] exchange. It begins with an overview of Muyuw geography, kinship, and recent history, then proceeds with a detailed functional analysis of the [n]kula[/n] as it operates on the island.
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Theoretical orientation in research and its results
- Gift giving
- Exchange transactions
- Status, role, and prestige
- Accumulation of wealth
- Social relationships and groups
- Community structure
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Functional and adaptational interpretations
- Status, role, and prestige
- Lineages
- Clans
- Borrowing and lending
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Northeastern Massim
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2015
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- Oceania
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Melanesia
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- essay
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- 1973-1975
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1973-1975
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Muyuw, Alcester, Egum Atoll and Laughlan Atoll island groups, Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea
- NotesAdditional notes
- [by] Frederick H. Damon
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 539-548)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- 82004142
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Kula exchange/Massim (Melanesian people)/Commerce, Primitive--Melanesia