“We die for kula”—An object-centred view of motivations and strategies in gift exchange

Authors

  • Susanne Kuehling University of Regina

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15286/jps.126.2.181-208

Keywords:

Kula Ring valuables, accumulated histories, kula exchange, material culture, Dobu Island, Papua New Guinea

Abstract

This paper examines the value of kula objects by focusing on the perspectives of islanders from the southern kula region. By linking kula practice to death and life, I argue that the objects' value is complex: material, sentimental and personal, created by partnerships in time and space. Kula valuables are valuable because they are managed by the most respected elders, occupy the minds of the those considered the most intelligent people of the region, and serve to build relationships, as well as test the honesty and integrity of individuals. They are also valued for their capacity to provide hospitality and solidarity, to repair conflicts and to express love and grief.

Author Biography

Susanne Kuehling, University of Regina

Susanne Kuehling, a German anthropologist, is Associate Professor at the University of Regina in Canada. She received her MA from Göttingen University, Germany. For her doctoral research she conducted 18 months of fieldwork on Dobu Island, Papua New Guinea. Her PhD thesis (The Australian National University, 1999) was titled “The Name of the Gift: Ethics of Exchange on Dobu Island”. She has published a book (Dobu: Ethics of Exchange on a Massim Island, University of Hawaiʻi Press, 2005) and journal articles on kula exchange, value, personhood, morality, gender, emplacement and teaching methods. Her current project on the revitalisation of kula exchange was developed during a number of visits to Dobu Island, Papua New Guinea (2009, 2012, 2015) and is funded by the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC). She taught for five years at Heidelberg University before moving to Canada in 2008.

Captain Korent at his home in Majuro

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Published

2017-06-28

Issue

Vol. 126 No. 2 (2017): June 2017

Section

Articles

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