Subject: kumatola warrior chief

Culture: Trobriand Islander / Massim

Setting: Trobriand Islands late 19th - mid 20th c

Object: ornaments = mwali armlet, soulava necklace

* Peabody Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology

"Arm Ring conus shells Trobriand Islands ...

Only the largest of armshells manufactured from Conus millepunctatus

can be worn on a man's upper arm. These are more valuable than small

'arm rings',

Arm rings are also manufactured elsewhere in the Massim District and

by the Mailu on the New Guinea mainland." ...

* Peabody Museum of Anthropology and Ethnology

"Arm Ring conus shell Massim District ... The Kula is a ceremonial exchange network

linking islands within the Massim District and structuring peaceful relations among them.

Two principal classes of objects are exchanged by Kula trading partners:

arm rings (mwali) which are the central sections of conus shells,

and necklaces (soulava) made of red shell discs. These items are never worn;

possessing them alone confers prestige to the owner." ...