Kula Ring

Definition of Kula Ring

The Canada social science dictionary [1] provides the following meaning of Kula Ring: A complex system of visits and exchanges among the Trobriand Islanders of the western Pacific first described by Bronislaw Malinowski in 1922. Necklaces were exchanged in one direction among the residents of a chain of islands and armbands exchanged in the opposite direction (hence the notion of a ring). These exchanges did not serve primarily an economic function but served to create social obligations among peoples which could be depended upon at various times in an individual’s life. The person who gave the most gifts would create the most obligations and in this sense create the most wealth by forming a relational net which could be depended upon. See: GIFT, THE in this legal dictionary and in the world encyclopedia of law.

Kula Ring: Resources

Notes and References

• Drislane, R., & Parkinson, G. (2016). (Concept of) Kula Ring. Online dictionary of the social sciences. Open University of Canada