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' (used only as currency) and are made in the Trobriand Islands.

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." ...