Brunton 1975, Why Do the Trob Have Chiefs, Man

7/27/2019 Brunton 1975, Why Do the Trob Have Chiefs, Man

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Why do the Trobriands Have Chiefs?

Author(s): Ron BruntonSource: Man, New Series, Vol. 10, No. 4 (Dec., 1975), pp. 544-558Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2800132 .

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WHY DO THE TROBRIANDS HAVE CHIEFS?RON BRUNTON

UniversityfPapuaNlewGuineaThe fact hat he Trobriandystem f rank nd chieftainships unusual n westernMelanesia as either een gnored r explainedn terms f highpopulation ensity ndagriculturalroductivity.owever, uchexplanationsre unsatisfactory,s neither hepopulationensity or theproductivitysexceptionaly Melanesiantandards.ollowing

Uberoi, his rticle rgues hat he keyto theTrobriand olitical ystemies n the kulaexchanges. evertheless,beroihasoverlookedertain eculiaritiesf kula n thenorthemTrobriands.hesepeculiarities,risingrom nvironmenitalnd social onditions,nabledthe xchangeystemo be closed ff o a degree otpossible lsewheren theMassim rea.Thisprecludedertain conomic nd political trategiesrom eingundertaken,herebylimitinghe ange fpeoplewhocould ffectivelyompete or eadershipndfacilitatinghedevelopmentfrankndchieftainship.hearticleoncludes ith briefxaminationf heapplicabilityf thegeneral rgumentootherMelanesianocieties.

IThe ranked descentgroups and chieftainshipf theTrobriandshave long beenrecognised satypicalforwesternMelanesia. Although Malinowskioveremphasisedthe ower ndpositionf he hiefsI,heres ittle oubt hat heTrobriandoliticalsystem iffersrom heusualMelanesian ig-man ype, oth nthe scriptionfdifferentialankto the sub-clansdala),whichoperates o limiteligibilityorleadership,nd the extent o whichthe status f leader s recognisednd givenlegitimacy.urthermore,ncontrasto the ndeterminateumber fBig-men hatcomparable roupsn otherMelanesianocietiesontain, Trobriand ub-clan asonlyonerecognisedeader Powell 960: I24, I25, I29 andpassim).Argumentshat ttempto explain he Trobriand olitical ystems resultingfrom highpopulation ensitye.g. Powel I969: 60i; Uberoi 97I: 96-8), oragriculturalroductivityHarris97I: 392-8; alsoimplicitn Uberoi 97I: I24)areunconvincing.iriwinasland as population ensityf hundredersons ersquaremile Powell i960: II9), a figure xceededbyareas nwesternMelanesiawhich acksystemsf rank ndchieftainship,ncluding obu Island2BrookfieldI97I: 74). Althought sextremelyifficultocompare roductivity,here renogrounds orbelieving hat er capitaproduction as significantlyreaterhan nother reasofwesternMelanesia3. usten's iguresndicate hat ven n a yearofcompetitiveoodexchanges hen xcellentonditionsrevailed, omore han -5

tons er capitaofyamswereproducedI945: I7-I8). This doesnotappear o beoutstanding;heaverage io household roduces -4 tonsofyams er capitaperyear Harding 967: 97) and theaverageEnga household roduces -s tons ofsweetpotatoes er apitaMeggitt958: 3I-I2).The thesis f thisarticle s thatthesocial and physical nvironmentf theMani N.S.) 10, 544-558.

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RON BRUNTON 545Trobriands, r more particularlyhe north-easternart of Kiriwina sland,afforded reater otential or ndividual r groupcontrol ver crucialpoliticalresourceshan lsewherentheMassim rea, swellasmost ther arts fwesternMelanesia. ike Uberoi I97I), I willbeconcentratingnthekula ing.However,will showthat ehasoverlooked ome rucial spects f ts peration,speciallynKiriwina istrict.

IIThekularitng

A number ffeatureseed to be stressedn Malinowski's escriptionf thekularing.The kulavaluablesvaygu'a)renecklaces fspondylushell soulava rbagi),exchangedn a clockwisedirection,nd whiteconus shell armshellsmwali),movingn ananti-clockwiseirection. hesevaluablesre in a class ftheirwn'(I922: 94) which deally re exchangeablenly against ach other nd are notpermanentlywned but need to be passedon. Thispreventsheir estructionrredistributiontdeathcf Kuma,Reay 959: 96-7; Siuai,Oliver955: 209-I0).The valuablesmove in specific hannels nd each participatingommunitysinvolvedncarryinghem ntothenext ommunity. lthough ula ommunitiescouldtrade othwithnon-kula reas nd communitieseyond he imitswithinwhichkula artnershipsouldbe contractedMalinowski922: I48, 500-2, 5o5-8)thekula ystemtselfppears s essentiallylosed.Thus thepossibilitiesor ntre-preneurialmanipulationy ambitiousmenwere restrictedn comparisonwithotherMelanesianxchange ystems.Other esearchuggestshatMalinowski's resentationequiresevisionseefig.i). Belshawfound hat he outhernection fMalinowski's ula ingwas infactmadeup oftwo separate eremonialxchange ings alled kuneBelshaw 955:26-7. See also Lauer I970: I75). Lauerindicates hat hekulawas not a staticsystemnd suggestshat in thepastthekulaseems o have beensubjected omajor hangesn tsgeographicalimensionndultimateurpose, dapting obothwithgreat lexibility'I970: I76). Belshaw'smaterialupportshis iew I955: 26).Even Malinowski, otingthe absenceof any kulamyths ssociatedwiththeNorthernrobriandsndSinaketatates hat thiswouldpoint, n the urface fit, to thefact that n olderdays,the island of Boyowa [Kiriwina] xcept tssouthernnd andtheeasternettlementfWawela,either id notenter t all ordid notplayan importantart nthekula'I922: 307).Unfortunately,e do notpossess nymaterialndicatingheprocesswherebynewcommunitiesere ntroducedntothering npre-contactimes, lthoughtispossible omake number frelativelynformeduesses. ula valuableswereused invaryingegrees ydifferentommunities)ormarriage aymentsFortuneI963: I89; Malinowski932: 77; I966: 29I). A marriageetween man romkula ommunitynda womanfrom non-kulamaking roupmight aveenabledthe woman's male kin to acquire vaygu'a nd eventually articipaten kulaexchanges. lternatively,aygu'amight epassed n to trade artnersutside hering nsufficientuantitiesor hem o become ncorporatednto hekula ystem.Ambiguitynd confusionxist bout thenature f kulavaluables.AlthoughMalinowskitateshat heprincipal aygu'are the rmshellsndnecklacesI922:



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546 RON BRUNTON

86, 0), n later ectionf he ame ookhementionshat oar's usksdoga)erealso nvolved, ovingnthe ame irections themwali.raditionally,hese erealmost s importants the rmshells,utby the ime fhisfieldworkery ewwerestill irculatingI922: 357). Malinowski uggestshat ecause hedoga erevaluedmorehighly n the mainland han n thekula egion herewas a greatertendencyordogao be exchanged utof thering.The polished reenstonedze and axe bladesbeku)lsopresent problem. helargestnd finest f thesewerenotused anddidnot likethe rmshellsnd neck-laces,go round ndround thering n perpetual xchange' Fortune963: 207).AlthoughMalinowskisserts hat hebekure notregularlyulaedI922: 354)helater tates hatthebiggest ekubecame specially mportantlass ofvaygu'a'(I922: 48 I).Seligmanntateshat ine xamples fbekucalledbenamnMurua, heir laceoforigin)werenamed I9Io: SI8, 53 ). Theprices aidfor omebladesmakes thardto accept hat heywereminor aluables.A typical xample ollows:Kwewos.his tonewassoldbyNevan afamous raftsman]oa Muruamanfor

five igs, nepair fmasiwaruarmshells]nd onesmall anoe, pparentlydugout.The Muruamanwas said to havesold it to a Lachlanboyfor enpigsandfivecanoesfull f coconutsSeligmann910: 53I).This transactionlso seems o indicatehat hevalueofthebladewashigherntheLachlans han n Murua. Seligmann's xamples I9I0: 53I-5) illustratehedifficultyfsustainingcharacterisationfbekusbeingmerely olicitaryifts,t

Trobriands.

'?, =.0Kitava

/ I /


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RON BRUNTON 547least nthat ector fthekula ing owhich eligmanns referring.inally,ntheDobu area,Fortunewrites f magic performed hen Tewarran anoes travelsouth,where olicitary ifts fyams nd coconuts re verbally ransformedntovaluablesof thekula-necklaces, pondylushell and greenstonelades I963:225-6).A furthernterestingointconcerns he argecoarsenecklaceskatudababile)produced n Sinaketa nd Vakuta. n thecaptionto Plate XVIII ofArgonautsMalinowskitates hat hey o 'notplay ny mportantart nthekula'. ut aterwe aretold hat hekatudababilere ometimesiven oDobuansaskula ifts ytheSinaketans.ome of these aterreturn o Sinaketa nd oin thesoulavan theirclockwisemovement round hering Malinowski922: 358).The following uotationndicateshat hesekatudababileere not ust minorvaluables.'In the old daysthe Sinaketans.. used to marrywomenfromKiriwina.Marriage lwaysentails .. reciprocalgifts:vegetablefood from the wife'skinsmeno herhusband; hat s,the annualurigubu,nd in return aluables-inthis aseredshelldiscs theres no doubtwhatsoeverhatMalinowskisreferringto thekatudababileere]-from hehusband's o thewife'skindred.Now peopleofrank n Kiriwinawere ble tosupply heSinaketan usbandsftheir isters itha large uantityffood.The Sinaketansnreturnaveto theparamounthiefndto othernotableswhat othese asof reatermportance,ecklacesndbeltsf helldiscs'Malinowski966: 29o-I, my mphasis).Malinowskiwrote boutthekula rom heTrobriand iewpointngeneral ndKiriwina nd Sinaketa istrictsnparticular.ut there s no reason o believe hatthe valuation ndtypeofkulatems nd themeansused to obtain hem houldhavebeen tandardisedhroughouthering. t sonlyby accepting hat heywerenot uniformhat hedifferencesn thepublishedmaterial an be reconciled.t ishard obelieve, or nstance,hat hevalueof a kulatemwasthe ame n the reawhere t wasproduceds tsvalue nplaces considerableistanceway.Withthekatudababileecklaces,or nstance,wouldsuggesthat lthoughheKiriwinansthemselves aynothaveregardedhem s truekula aluables,twas stillmportantto obtain hem s theymighthavebeen used as suchwith communitiesarthereast n order o obtain rmshells.Ifmy suggestionsnthis ectionreacceptedwe are facedwith hequestion fwhythere houldhave been such pecificityfkula aluablesnthenortheasternTrobriands.

IIIKula in he robriands

A carefulxaminationfkula outes hroughheTrobriandssee fig. ) under-minesMalinowski's ssertionwhich lsoformshemainbasis orUberoi's hesis,I97I: I24) thatOmarakananKiriwina istricts one ofthemost mportantlacesinthering' I922: 468). It ssurprisinghat o-onehas drawn ttentiono thefactthatKiriwina istricts n a ratherrecariousositionnthekula etwork. his sapparent romMalinowski's tatementsbout the double ramification hich



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548 RON BRUNTON

unites itavawithDobu. The short oute unsdirect romKitavatoVakuta ndfromVakuta to Dobu. Besidesthis,however, here re several onger ones'(Malinowski922: 497).FromKitava, hrough hich llkula aluablesmust ass, hererefour ossibleroutes; hrough iriwina istrict,hrough akuta sland, hroughheOkayaulogroupofvillages nd throughhe ndependent illageofWawela (Malinowski1922: 476-7). Although nly smallnumber fkula aluables asses hrough heselasttworoutes,hefact emainshatKiriwina istrictasto competewith hreeotherreas ngettingccess o thekulatream.omequantitativendication fthisis apparent romMalinowski's ccount f a series fkutlaransactionsnvolvingarmshells.irst heVakutans ent oKitavabringingack a bighaulof rmshells'(1922: 386)whichmust ave numbered t east 44pairs sthissthe mount hattheVakutans ave to their obuan partners fewweeks ater I922: 39I). Thechief fKiriwina hen isited itava ndwasable tobring ackonly I3 pairs farmshells.he Sinaketansbtained 54 ofthese ndadded 5o whichwere lreadyin SinaketaI922: 386). The totalwas thenpassed n to theDobuans. The i5o

f _ (I)~~~~iriwina14 \ (1) (2) Tilataulao arakana (3)Kuboma(4)Kulamata

ufjA4\\\~~~~~~~~~~sb3) (6) SinaketaKitava

To Amphletts Sinaketa D

and/orDobu K

To Amphlettsand/orDobuFIGURE 2. Kula routes rom itavatoDobu.



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RON BRUNTON 549armshells reviously eldin Sinaketamay have arrived hrough he other woroutes owhich heSinaketans adaccess-OkayauloandNVawela-althoughhisis not pecificallytated.) husoutof707armshellsassing hroughheTrobriandson this ccasion,Kiriwinawas ableto get ess han third. ven fwe maketheunlikely ssumptionhatall the i5o armshellslreadypresentn Sinaketahadactually rrivedrom iriwina t an earlier aterather han hroughheother woroutes, iriwinawould onlyhaveprocured 63armshellsr ittlemore hanhalfoftheflow.Furthermore,iriwina otno necklacestall from inaketanreturnfor hese rmshellsI922: 468).Kiriwina's recarious ulapositions also llustratedyindirectvidence.Fromthe Trobriand ointof view Malinowski xplicitlytates hata kulapartnershiponstitutes lifelong elationshipnd thateven if a man was dis-appointed ithhispartnerhe elationshipouldnotbe brokenI922: 2I, 96, 74;I926: 25). However, ortune, ritingfDobu, states hat artnershipsfrequentlybreak pand newpartnershipsre contractedwingto oneof thepartnersailingto meethis ust obligations'I963: 2I4). Differenceshus xistbetween he twoplaces, ven fmore deological han ctual. As theTrobriands ndDobu Islandarenot ndirect ula ontact he ssertionsrenotcontradictory).hesedifferencescan be understoodn terms f ease of access o thekula tream.n theNorthernTrobriands-in precarious ositionn thering-partnershipsre retained t allcosts.nDobu,which s n a strongositionandwhere hekulamaynotbequite simportantor tatus uildings ntheTrobriands4), en anpresumablyffordobe moreflexiblenthis egard.The utilisationf kula tems n the Trobriands,articularlyiriwinadistrict,differsrom hat nKitavaon theone hand ndDobu ontheother.Althoughhekulavaluables re nvolved n affmalaymentsntheTrobriandsheir seappearsto be imited. iven he atternfmarriage references,ffmalxchangesrobablyinvolvekulapartnersnanycase, stheres a tendencyor pouses o be ofsimilarrankMalinowski932: 7I), andfor ow ranking ersons ither ot toparticipateinthekula r tohavevery ewpartnersMalinowski922: 9I, 275).Malinowski oesnotprovide uantitativeata on affmalxchangesnvolvingvaygtu'ao it sonlypossible omakeassertionsy comparison ithDobu. Here,Fortune rovides statement hich findsno parallel n any of Malinowski'sTrobriandmaterial.'Thegroom ndhiskin lsogoforthnthekula.Regardlessffuturempedimentotheir ula my emphasis] heymust ccumulatermshells, anyofthem, nd aspondylushellnecklace r two togiveas a presento thebride's elativess thekivesi,rbrideprice.The bride's elatives eednotreturn heequivalentfthesegiftsnanyhaste.n fact hereturnsoften ears elayed' I963: I89).From theKitavaside, ll thewayroundto Tubetube,kula s associatedwithfuneraryistributionsMalinowski922: 489).After mandieskulavaluables re'dammedup' in order hat heymaybe used nthefinalmortuaryeast. uringthe ntervalrom hedeath o thefeast o valuables regiven way althoughhedeadman'scommunityccumulatessmany s possible. his periodmight aryin ength rom fewmonths p totwo years n the aseofa really mportant an.At thedistributionollowing hefeast ll thekulapartnersf thecommunityreinvited nd the accumulated aluables re released n a suddenflow. As all the



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550 RON BRUNTONvaluableshave to pass throughKitava on theirway to the Trobriands omeimportantonsequencesollow, lthoughMalinowski oes not deal with hem.

First, nder hese ircumstances,heTrobrianders ouldholdon to the aluablesfor n even shorter eriod hanusual.They would not be getting ny armshellsfor period fup to twoyears, ut n order o maintainhemselvesn good standingwith heKitavansheywouldstill aveto passonthenecklaces. econdly, s all thevaluables regivenout at once, to all the assembled artners,nd as men fromKiriwinawould be competing ith t least hree therkula ommunitiesor hearmshells,twould seemreasonable o expect hat heopportunitiesormanipula-tionwould be more restricted5.urthermore,hiscompetitiveituation ouldentail reater xpensen terms fthe olicitary ifts equired6.On theopposite ideoftheTrobriandsheresalso a tendency orkula aluablesto damup, althought snotasmarked s on theKitavan ide.The Dobuans donot havea large calekuladistributiont thefuneraryeast, utafter death heyaccumulate aygu'an order o adorn hemselves ithvaluables t thefinalmor-tuary istribution-aractice bsent romheTrobriands. herefore,aluablesreheldup for fewmonthsMalinowski922: 492).Thus, lthough heTrobriand tilisationfkulavaluablesnnon-kula ontextsisminimal7,hey re surroundedn both idesbycommunitieshichuse themextensivelyn activities ot directlyonnectedwiththe kula. Evenin Vakuta,vaygu'areusedmorewidely s they avetobegiven oa wife's rothernreturnfor he atter's arvestingndtransportftheurigubuaymentMalinowski966:295). The fact hatneighbouringreas se kula aluablesn other ontextsends oincrease heprecariousnessf theTrobrianders'old overvaygu'a8,articularlynKiriwina istrict.Sinaketa nd Vakuta,manufacturinghe katudababileecklaces,are na strongerosition).t alsoraises he uestionfwhy heTrobriandersonotsimilarlysekulavaluables o extensively.I wouldsuggesthat he nswer o this uestion as twoaspects. he first elatesto the ikelihood,ouched n earlier,hat henorthernrobriands avenotbeeninvolvednthekula or he ame ength ftime s other ommunities.he secondrelates o thegreat mportancef thekula n definingtatusUberoi 97I: 43,I24-6), and the tenuousnessf the Northern robriands' old over the kulastream. amarguinghat t s crucial or hemen ofKiriwina istrictokeepthevaluablesmoving; they re bothtoo important oliticallynd too difficultoprocure o take herisk fsubstantiallyivertinghem o other ctivities,herebypossibly ntagonisingartnersnneighbouringommunities.

IVUberoind owell n TrobriandhieftainshipAlthoughUberoihas convincinglyemonstratedheimportancef kula nTrobriand olitics,womajor riticismseedto be madeofhiswork.The firststhathe has notexamined hekulanetwork n sufficientetail nd consequentlyoveremphasisesheposition fOmarakananthe ing. hesecond s that e showslittle oncernwith pplying isargumentonsistently.Uberoisuggestshat herank fa local ineage dala) s theoutcome f a com-bination f three hings;i) economic dvantage,whichmeans villagewith



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RON BRUNTON 55Ifertileardens,r oneparticularlyellsuited or ishing;2) the xtento which tis a centrentegratinghe conomic ctivitiesf tsneighbours;nd 3) itspositionin thenetworkfoverseaslliances'I97I: 43).However, t is necessaryo pointout that, lthough feedback rocesss nodoubt nvolved, dala s more ikely o be a centre or conomic xchange s aconsequencef tshighrank hanviceversa, s Uberoi mplies.Furthero (3), in a later hapter fhisbook Uberoi states:oftwovillages rdistrictsf otherwiseomparabletanding,hehigher ankwouldbelongto theone whichwasmoreproficientnthekula ndhadthemore dvantageousxternalaffiliations' (I97I: I24).But Uberoi s unclearstowhy heTrobriandshould ave systemfranking,whereas ther slands o not. n sofar s heraises hequestiont all twouldseemthat elocateshe nswer nthehigher opulationf he robriands,uggestinghatthismade thevaygu'a ore scarce I97I: 96-7). However,hissuggestionere ssimplymisleading.he actual opulationfanislands rrelevant. hatmatterssthepopulation f a kuladistrict,f which here reat east even ntheTrobriandgroup (Malinowski 922: 475), whereasDobu Island forms ne kuladistrict(Malinowski922: 82). Uberoi'sfiguresgnore his oint.A comparisonf thevillages fOmarakana, inaketa ndVakuta n terms fUberoi'sthree actors ieldsdamaging esults. hese threevillages ll containTabaludala-thehighestankingala.OmarakanasthemostmportantillagentheTrobriandsnd theonewhere ank smost xemplifiedMalinowski922: 66;I966: 430). Althoughtdoeshavevery oodgardensnd sthe entre fKiriwinadistrict,here hedistrictconomy' smost ronouncedMalinowski966: 369),itskulanetwork ndposition, s alreadyndicated,renot as strong s thatofVakuta. n the wholeofKiriwina here reonlyeight anoes ndfewsailing rcanoe-buildingxpertsMalinowski922: I20-I). AlthoughOmarakanawas animportantentre orthedistributionfkula tems n the nland etwork ftheNorthernrobriands,t srather ifficult,rom he vidence lready resented,ofind hebasisforUberoi's ssertionhat hekula s a spherewherein iriwina sfamous hroughoutheMassim rea' I97I: I38).Evengreater roblemsrisewhenUberoi's rgumentsapplied oSinaketandVakuta.Vakuta stheoneplace ntheTrobriands here ank shardlyperative.Althoughherewas a branch ftheTabaludala nVakutatheir owerhereneverassumed heproportionsvenofthe mall hiefs fSinaketa'Malinowski922:69), and theposition fSinaketa hiefs asunimpressiveomparedwithOmara-kana.On thebasis fUberoi's nalysis,owever,newouldexpectVakuta ohavean elaboratedanking ystem.Vakuta slandhad four mallvillages ndone argeone.AlthoughMalinowskidoesnotgive ny nformationbout hedistrictconomy fVakuta,t sunlikely,given ts ize, hat t wouldhave been ess han hat fSinaketawherethe districteconomysnotvery ronounced'I966: 369).More mportantly,akuta's ardensweremuchbetter han hose fSinaketa-Malinowskiompareshemwith hoseofKiriwinaI966: 295)-Vakuta was a village fgreatwealth I966: 2II) and tsinhabitantsere expert ndskilled ishermen'I966: I9)9. Vakutawas in a farstrongerositionnthekula han nyother robriandommunity.twas the nlyonewith verseasi.e.outsideheTrobriandroup)kula lliancesnbothdirections.



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552 RON BRUNTONSome Vakutamenhad partnersn Sinaketas well Malinowski922: 276). Therewere twenty-twoanoes in Vakuta,more than in any other districtn theTrobriands nd nearly threetimesthe number owned by Kiriwinans ndSinaketans.twasalsothebest entre or anoebuildingMalinowski922: I2I-2).In this context he evidencefromDobu should be included.For althoughUberoi sonly ttemptingo account ordifferencesn rankwithin heTrobriandsit is neverthelessmportanto testhisargument gainst heDobuan materialnorderto pointout its inadequacy ordealingwith the widerquestion f theatypicalityftheTrobriands.Malinowskitateshat heDobuans nhabitfertilendflat oreshores'1922: 4X),and thatthey re 'veryrich n food' (I922: 355)IO. The Dobuans were veryadvantageouslylaced nthekulanetworksallthevaluables ad to passthroughthere Fortune963: 202). Theirexternalffiliationsentwell beyond he kula,however, s they ngaged ntradewith number fnoln-kulareas MalinowskiI922: 505). Despiteall thistherewas no ranking r chieftainshipn Dobu.Malinowskilsothoughthat omeDobuan communitiesidnotparticipatenthekula relseparticipatedn a very mall cale I922: 275). Yet there oesnot ppearto havebeenanydiminishingfprestiges a resultseealso note4).Powell hardlyrecognises hat Trobriandrank and chieftainshipresentproblem, ven n terms fdifferencesithin he Trobriands. e states hat ankis highlydvantageousin so small nd densely opulated n island' I969: 60I).But the population ensity f the Trobriandss less thanthatof Dobu Island(Powell 960: I19; Fortune963: i8). Powellsuggestshatrankmaybe definedsan attribute hich haracteriseshemembers f certain robriand ub-clansdala)as thepropereadersnthe ocalitieswithwhich hey reassociated'I960: I28),and 'whichentitlesheirmembers ather hanothers o acquirewealth .. theacquisitionf wealth.. doesnot,ontheother and,nthe raditionaliriwinanview,entitle eopleto claimrank s Guyau, rmembershipf theTabaludala'(I965: 98).However, he raditionaliriwinan iew s notat ssuehere. owellhas gnoredthedistinctionetweennativemodelsof society,modelswhichmayhave animportantolitical unctionndisguisingeality,nd anoutside bserver'snalysisoftheway nwhich hat ociety perates.Furthermore,owell'sexposition oes notenableus to understandhythereshould e suchvariationnthe bility fdifferentocalbranchesf theonedalatoacquirewealthand power; forexamplethe differencesn the acceptancenOmarakana, inaketandVakutaof the ocal Tabaludala's laims ohighestankand thepolitical apital hat hey anmakeof this.Neither oes tpermit s toexplain hangesntherank f ocaldala.The villageofSuviyagila, onsistingfonlyone sub-clanMalinowski966:346) was, n Malinowski'sime, ne of thedespised ndogamous roup fvillagesinKuboma I932: 42I). Yetbythe ime owellcarried uthisfieldworkt seemsthat heSuviyagila alahadacquiredGuyau ank.See map, 960: I23.) There salso therathertrangeaseofVilaylima,nce a commoner illage. or a period ftwo generationstbecame Tabalucentre,ut t returnedo tsoriginalwners stheonlyTabalu womandied childless. everthelesshevillage was distinctlyraisednrankbytheprocess' Malinowski966: 365-6). Powellindicates hat t



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RON BRUNTON 553isagutyauillage he calls t Ilalima, 960: 123). This maynot,of course, escribeactualhistoricalrocesses, ut it does indicate t least some recognition f thepossibilityfchangesnrank.

VRank nd esourcesn heTrobriandsContinuing n frompointsmade earlier, would suggest hatthenorthernTrobriands-ormoreparticularly iriwinadistrict-somehowpluggedin' tothekularingratlherate,at a timewhentheringwas well developed nd hadconsiderableame ndprestige. he processwhereby iriwina ecame nvolvedcouldwell have been thesending fKiriwinanwomen n marriage o Kitava(Malinowski932: 70) orSinaketandVakutaMalinowski966: 290-I). Thiswouldalso haveprovided he basisforthepropagationftheTabalu dala.TheextensiveardensfKiriwina istrictouldbe used oprovide rigubuaymentsothehusbandsf theKiriwinan omen, nd n return ertainuantitiesfvaygu'awouldbe sentby the husbandso theirwives'brothersMalinowski966: I99,

290; see lso932: 76-7).Maybe nly ne r womenwerenvolvednitially-butthefewer hebetternterms f thedevelopmentf rank ndchieftainship.hesemen would thenbe in a positionwherebyhosefarthernlandwishing o gainaccess o thekulawould have to operate hrough hem,most ikelyby sendingtheir isterss wives.By sendingheir istersomarry abalumen otherswouldalsoget ccess o thekula, ut smentionedarlier herewere omerestrictionsnmarriagehoices,ndtheoverall ispersionf kulavaluables ould be confined.I amsuggestinghattwas the uccessfulxploitationfwhatBaileywould terma newresource'I969: 35-7, I90)-one which lready ad considerablerestigethroughtsutilisationn neighbouringommunities-which rovides he mostplausible xplanation or heuniquedevelopmentf stratificationn thenorthernTrobriands.articipationnthekulabecame hebasis f socialdifferentiationithpoliticaluccess ased argelynsuccessnthekula.Underdifferentircumstances,althoughhe xploitationfa newresourcemayhavehad mportantonsequencesfor he ocialpositionfthemen nitiallynvolved, ver period f time gradualdissipationo othersnthegeneralreawouldhaveoccurred". That his issipationcould be avertedntheNorthern robriands as a consequence fa number fvery mportantactors.One ofthemost rucial fthesewas that, part rom tsfertileardens, iriwinadistrict,loneamongst ll theplaces nvolved n the kula,did not manufactureanythingfvalue tootherMassim ocieties, ad no expertsuch s canoebuilderswhocouldhire ut their killsnd did notengage nany ide rade fsignificance.Itwas thusntheunique ositionfbeing bletocloseoffhe xchange ystemnderect arrierso the onvertibilityf kula tems.n all theother ula ommunitiesforwhichwe possessnformation,ontrol y anyone ndividual r group f highvaluedresources,ndthemaintenancef barriersgainst onvertibility,ere farmoredifficult. e can see thisquite clearly n Seligmann'sist of transactionsinvolvingxebladesI9I0: 53 -2, see lso 3 -7),aswell s some fMalinowski'smaterial1922: 499,502-3). n Kiriwina istrictnd its surroundsherefore,heentrepreneurialpportunitiesor othermen to exploit hrough rade tc. were



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554 RON BRUNTONvery imited. urthermore,s mentionedarlier,hefixed irectionn whichkulavaluablesmoved ndthetenuousnessf Kiriwina's old overthekula ystemlsooperated o facilitatehis ontrol.It might e objected hat, lthough he exchange ystemn Kiriwinamay bemorecontrolledhan lsewhere,nvironmentalonditionsre rrelevant,nd thesituationasarisens a consequence f thedevelopmentf rank nd chieftainship.However, here re two very trong easons or rguing hat heelaboration f asystem f hereditaryank and chieftainshipn Kiriwinawas dependent n thepossibilitieshat the environmentffered orcontrolover resources nd theexchange ystem. hat s, certain olitical trategiesould be successfullyarriedout nKiriwina istrictut were ess ffectiver mpossible lsewhere.First, hegeographical osition f Omarakanas such hat t s at a considerabledisadvantageor theexploitationf resources. iriwinadistrict oes not haveaccess o theTrobriandagoon,or to other laceswhere he hells sedto manu-facturehenecklaces ndarmiletsanbe foundMalinowski922: 367; I966: 2I).Omarakanahas only ndirect ccess o theopensea,fromwhich t is separatedbya strip fhighground. urthermoretsrather eak positionntheoverallkulanetworksa result f external onditions, ot nternal olitical trategy.Secondly, lthough branchof the Tabalu dala is presentn Omarakana,Sinaketa ndVakuta, here regreatdifferencesn the ocal effectivenessf theirclaims o aristocratictatus. hesedifferencesre in linewith whatwe shouldexpect fwe acceptthat t is environmentalonditions,ather han a rankingideology er e,which nables heclosing p of an exchange ystem'2.Having established hemselves,here an be no doubt that the OmarakanaTabalu tooksteps o consolidate heir conomic ndpolitical osition. igs,thesupremetem fconvertibleealthnMelanesia, ere oncentratednthehands fmen frankAusten945: 20, 23: Malinowski926: 90). Thepatternfmarriagepreferenceslsooperated o limit pportunities,or lthough ood could be con-vertedntovaluableshrougheturnaymentsor rigubu,herewasa tendencyorpeopletoselect pouses fsimilar ankMalinowski932: 7I, 385). Neverthelesstwas thegeographicalnd ecologicalposition f Kiriwinawhichpermittedhecontrol o be establishedn thefirst lace and whichenabled hesemeasuresobecome ffective.

VIConclusionI have suggestedhat hepresencend elaborationfchieftainshipndrank ntheNorthern robriandsan bestbe understoodn terms f factors hichper-mitted hedevelopmentf a morecontrolledxchange ystemhan xisted lse-where.The opportunitiesvailable or mbitiousmentocreate 'fundofpower'and strike utontheir wnwererestricted,s the ocial ndphysicalnvironmentfacilitatedhe xistencefwhatDouglas I967) calls 'coupon system'. ncesucha system evelops,however, he actualnature f thepolitical ontestmaybemaskedsee e.g.Balandier 972: 34); inmycriticismfPowell pointed ut thenecessityf going beyondnativemodels.Trobriand hieftainshipesulted otfrom n abundance f basicfoodstuffs,ut from scarcity f valuables.This



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RON BRUNTON 555scarcityasnot implyresultfpopulationensityutwas consequencef heoperationfexternalxchangeetworksnd he istributionfnon-agriculturalresources.hereason hyboth he rinciplefrank nd he ower f he hiefbreak ownmore ndmore s we move outh'Malinowski922: 69), sthatcommunitiesnthe outh ere etterlacedntermsf heirccessothekulandothermportantesources.onopolisationfpoliticalokensy ndividualsrgroups asthereforeess ossible.Existingata,whichwould nable similarnalysisfotherocietiesith ankand/orscribedeadership,refragmentarynd ncomplete.everthelesswillbrieflyeviewhematerialn ome f heseocietiess t s t eastuggestivef heapproachhave utlined.Seligmann rote fchieftainshipndrankedlans mongstheRoro I9I0:2I6-22) andMekeo I9I0: 342-8).Hisobservationsavebeen onfirmedytherecentesearchfDaviswithhe oroI973; I974) andHau'ofa ith heMekeo(I97I; I973). WealthtemsnMekeo onsistedffeathers,rmshellsnddogs'teethHau'ofa973), but he riginf hesetemssnot ompletelylear.eligmannstateshat hepeopleivingn themountainsehind ekeo roughteathersortrade oMekeovillagesI9I0: 3I3-I4). ThearmshellseremadebytheHula,Aroma ndMailupeopleso the ast fPt.Moresbynd arriedy heMotuhiriexpeditionsest othe apuan ulfGroves973: I04). However,tappearsrombothSeligmann'snd Barton's tatementshatthehiri ypassed heRoro andMekeo reasSeligmann910: 204; Barton910: I07-I0). Seligmannoteshatthe xternalradeelationsfboth heRoroandMekeowere imitedI9I0: 204,3I3). Davis statesit isclear hat heRoro and Mekeoarerelativelyecentmmi-grantsotheirrea' I973: I3, cf Seligmann9I0: 3I6); thiswouldhelp xplaintheweaklydevelopedtraderelationswith their mmediate eighbours. hus,although considerablemount ffurthernformationn trade ndexchangesrequired,here reat least omegrounds orbelievinghat heRoro andMekeomayhavebeen n a position omparablewith that fthe Northern robriands,having nlymarginalccess o strategicaluables.In Wogeo, in theSchoutenslandgroupoff henorth oast ofNew Guinea,local tunitsre divided ntotwo,each with tsown hereditaryeader kokwal).Hogbinregardshekokwals being more than headman, hough essthanchief' I935a: 3I8). Only thekokwal earstheboar'stuskornament.Rank isbound pwith oar's usks'Hogbin940: 25). Butthese usksreneither adenoravailable nWogeo. Like all ornaments,hey re traded rom hemainland.Withthe xceptionffood,Wogeo isdependentn tems oming romlsewhere(HogbinI93sb: 376). Trading rips re nfrequent,ccurringtfive- r six-yearintervals.hese ripsre nitiatedndcontrolledythekokwalHogbin 935a: 3 I0,320). Althoughfter 'lapseoftwo orthree ears hemainlanderseciprocatendintheir urnrrangenexpedition'Hogbin970: I7) it is clear hatWogeo,dependentnexternalrade orwealth tems,snotconvenientlyocated ntermsofgaining ccess o them.n a personal ommunicationan Hogbinhasacceptedmy uggestionhat his acilitatedcontrolledxchangeystemndmayhavebeenan importantactornthe xistencefascribed olitical fficenWogeo.The societiesftheNew GuineaHighlands estmyargumentrom differentangle.Despitehigh griculturalroductivityndefficiencynd anextremelyigh



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556 RON BRUNTONpopulation ensitynmany reas,Highlandsocieties avenotdeveloped systemof hereditaryocialstratificationnd chieftainship.lthoughHighlanders eredependentn longdistancerade or rucialwealth tems-shells,alt, xesetc.-thenature fthe rade outeswas such hat owherewas tpossible omonopoliseand close up thetrade nd exchange ystem. he flow of these tems ndicatesconsiderableiversity.ughes,nhisworkon tradenthe nteriorfPapuaNewGuinea tates hat lthough is maps ndicate linear lowof mainwealth tems'theseflows resimplyhe umeffectfmyriadransfersfgoodstaking lace nmanydifferentirections'I97I: 35o).Discussingheopportunitiesor losing fftheexchangeystem e sayseachpersonal etwork f tradewasfound o be anopen system.When trading onnections ere combinedwithconnectionsorprestationheycoveredthe entirepersonal ommunication et. Each man'spersonal ommunicationetworkwas restedn a hierarclhyf open systemsnwhich rade ookplace' (I971: 359-60).The general onvertibilityf valuables, hemulti-directionalature f theircombinedifnot, n all cases, ndividual) lowand thegeneralmllportancendaccessibilityfpigsensuredn opentrade ndexchange ystem hroughoutheHighlands. his s clearlypparentromHughes'smaps llustratingheflow fthemain aluables1973: I02-3, I06-7) aswell shis tatementsnd hose fothers(Hughes 97I: I37-46, 350-I, 359-65; Brown1970: I00, I08-II; Langness97I:311; Meggitt97I: I93-5; Reay 959: I04-I0).Reviewing hematerialnMelanesianxchangeystemsrownstateshat heegalitarianismf mostMelanesian ocietieshouldbe explainedn terms fthe'realmofreligion'I970: ii5) ratherhan he conomy. have rgued he ontraryposition.Culturalprescriptionsf rankand ascribedeadershipre secondary.GiventheftndamentalmportancefexchangenMelanesian olitics,we mustfocus n the trade ndexchange ystemsnd examinewhetherhe mainwealthitems anbecontrolledndgivenimited irculationndconvertibilityfwe aretounderstandheorigins f hereditaryocial stratificationnd chieftainship.hiscontrols a culturalct,but thekeyto itsbeing successfultrategyeeds o belocated nthephysicalnd social nvironment-thextent o which society asdirectccess odurable esourcesndthenature f ts xternalxchange elations.Whereconditionsresuch hatmencanactto imit trategicxchangetems ndpre-emptthers rom ainingccess othem, hen he tage s setfor hedevelop-ment frank ndchieftainship.

NOTESThis rticlesa shortenedndrevisedersionf M.A.thesisresentedotheUniversityfSydneyn December973. I wish oexpress ygratitudeomy upervisor,r MichaelAllen,forhis nvaluableomments,riticismsndencouragementndalsoto Dr DawnRyanforcommentingnvariousspectsfthe hesis.I Inhismost ecentrticle,owelluses he ermGuyau, atherhan hief,o refer o theleader f high ankingguyau)ubclanI969: 602), but his ermsobviouslyot uitableorcomparativeurposes. s Powellfails o provide moregenerallypplicableerm, havecontinued,ikemost therwriters,ouse chief' nd chieftainship'.hepointstohighlightdifferencesetweenheTrobriandsndotherMelanesianocietiesatherhan nynecessarysimilaritiesithay, olynesia.2 The areaofDobu Island s sixsquaremiles nd tspopulationt thetime fFortune'sfieldworkwas I,200 (i963: I 8).



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RON BRUNTON 5573 In any ase, s Sahlins as recentlyhownI972), high roductivitysmore ikelyo be aconsequencefpolitical volutionhan cause.4 Fortunetates hatnDobu 'it isa mortalnsult or ne mantosay o another you arealways n thesea and without ew garden ood". Gardenings the supremeccupation.'(I963: 20I).5 Firthuggestshatit wouldbeinterestingo relate his ifferentialse ofvaluableso thedifferentialank tructurefthe respectiveommunities,he chiefsn the Trobriandsre-sumably etainingreaterontrol han lsewherehroughhe ackofmortuaryisplaynddistributionshere' I957: 224). This seems o inmplyhat n Kitavaetc.thedistributionfvaygu'at the uneraryeasts random. ut Malinowski'sccountmakes t clear hat aluablesare given nly o kulapartners,lthough eopleother han artners ight epresentI922:

489-9I).6 Cf.Firth'sommenthatthepossibilitiesfcompetitionnoffering... olicitaryifts..amountneffectoa sub osa agglingf polite ind.'I957: 22I).7 However, hey o cover hebodyof deadpersonwithkula aluables,utonly or fewhoursMalinowski932: I30-I).8 They are further isadvantagedy the tendencyf two neighbouringommunities,KayleulandtheAmphlettsto retain numberfvaluables ndbe slow npassinghem n'(Malinowski922: 360).9Sinaketa asalso an mportantishingentreMalinowski966: I7).1OSuperficiallyhere ppearso be disagreementnthis ointn the iterature.ortunetatesthattheDobuan area s poor n gardens'I963: I03) although eadds theMissiontateshatbumper ative rops,uch s arenotknown ow,used o be harvestedn the arlierays f heMission ngoodseasons'I963: I03). Thisdiscrepancyetween ortune'statementsndthoseofMalinowskimay be largely result f depopulationndcontractabour, point hatFortuneeems o haveacceptedn the econd dition f hisbook I963: 282-3). In anycase,Dobu hadsufficientuantitiesf at leastonefoodstuff-sago-tonable t to be exported

(I963: 207)." As was the asewith he ntroductionfnew types f hell aluablesnmany arts ftheNew GuineaHighlandssee .g.Hughes 97I: 25, II3-I6, 3I6-33).12 Ideally, discussionfother abalu ocales uch s Kavataria,ayleula, umilababa,tc.,should e included. utthematerialvailable n thepositionf theTabalu eaders,nd theextent fparticipationnthekulas nsufficientodo this. rmshellseremade nbothKayleulaandKavataria,ndboth ommunitiesade xtensiverading oyageso non-kulareas. heseactivities ouldmake he losing p ofthe xchangeystemxtremelyifficult.owever,wecangetno indicationboutthe extent o whichkulaexchangeselated o thesenon-kulavoyagesndthemportancefkula ornternalrestige. avatariandKayleulawere, t most,onlymarginallynvolvedn thekula Malinowski922: 498, 50I; I966: i8), andmayhavehaddifficultyngettingccess obagi.Neither anwe make ny tatementsbout hepower ndprestigefTabalu chiefs'ntheseommunities.owever, yPowell's imeKavataria asnolonger TabaluvillageI960: I23).REFERENCES

Austen, . I945. Cultural hangesn Kiriwina. ceania 6, I5-6o.Bailey, . G. I969. Stratagemsnd poils. xford:Blackwell.Balandier, . I972. Politicalnthropology.armondsworth:enguin.Barton, . R. I910. The annual radingxpeditiono thePapuanGulf. n TheMelanesiansfBritish ewGuinea. . G. Seligmann. ambridge: niv.Press.Belshaw, . B. I955. Insearchfwealth. m.Anthrop.7, Memoirs o.Brookfield,. C. withD. Hart 97I. Melanesia: geographicalnterpretationf n sland orld.London:Methuen.Brown, . I970. Chimbu ransactions.antN.S.) 5,99-I17.Davis,M. I973. Researchnterestsn Roro. Unpublishedaper:MacquarieUlliversity.- I974. Some thoughtsn Roro leadership. npublishedaper: Univ. Papua NewGuinea.Douglas,M. I967. Primitiveationing.n Themesn economicnthropologyed.) R. FirthAss.socialAnthrop. onogr. ). London:Tavistock.Firth, . I957. TheplaceofMalinowskin thehistoryfeconomicnthropology.n Man andcultureed.)R. Firth. ondon:Routledge& KeganPaul.Fortune, . F. I963. SorcerersfDobu.London:Routledge ndKeganPaul second ditioni).



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RON BRUNTONGroves,M. I973. Hiri. nAnthropologynPapuaNewGuineaed.) . Hogbin.Melbourne: niv.Press.Harding, . G. I967. Voyagersf heVitiaz trait.eattle:Univ. ofWashingtonress.Harris,M. I97I. Culture,aturendman.New York: ThomasY. Crowell.Hau'ofa, . I97I. Mekeochieftainship.J.olynes.oc. 9, I52-69.I973. Thecontext fMekeo sorcery.npublishedaper:MacquarieUniversity.Hogbin,H. I. I935a. Native ulture f Wogeo.Oceania , 308-37.I93g5b. rading xpeditionsn northem ew Guinea.Oceania , 375-407.I940. Thefatherhooses isheir.OceaniaI, I-39.I970. The sland fmenstruatingen. cranton: handler.Hughes,. 97I. RecentneolithicradenNew Guinea. hesis, ustralianational niversity.I973. Stone-agerade ntheNewGuinea nland. n ThePacificn transitioned.)H. C.Brookfield. anberra: ustralian ationalUniv. Press.Langness,. L. I97I. Bena Bena politicalrganization.nPoliticsn New Guinea eds)R. M.Bemdt& P. Lawrence. edlands:Univ.ofWestern ustralia ress.Lauer, . K. I970. Amphlettslands' otteryrade nd thekula.Mankind, I65-76.Malinowski,. I922. Argonautsf hewesternacific.ondon:Routledge.I926. Crimend ustomn avageociety.ondon:KeganPaul.I932. Thesexual ife f avagesnnorth-westernelanesia.ondon:Routledge thirdedition).I966. Coral ardensnd heir agic ol. i. London:GeorgeAllen nd Unwin secondedition).Meggitt, .J. 958. TheEngaoftheNew GuineaHighlands:ome reliminarybservations.Oceania8, 253-330.I97I. Fromtribesmeno peasants: he caseof theMae-Engaof New Guinea. nAnthropologyn Oceania eds) L. R. Hiatt & C. J. Jayawardena.ydney:Angus &Robertson.Oliver, . L. I955. A Solomonsland ociety.ambridge, ass.:Harvard niv.Press.Powell,H. A. I960. Competitiveeadershipn Trobriandsoliticalrganization.J.. anthrop.Inst.o, I I8-45.I965. Review: Politics fthekula ing.Man65,97-99.I969. Territory,ierarchyndkinshipn Kiriwina.Man N.S.) 4, 580-604.Reay,M. i959. TheKuma.Melboume:Univ.Press.Sahlins, . D. I972. Stone ge conomics.hicago:Aldine.Seligmann,. G. I910. TheMelanesiansf ritish ewGuinea. ambridge: niv.Press.Uberoi, .P. S. I97I. Politicsf he ula ing. anchester:niv.Presssecond dition).

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Brunton 1975, Why Do the Trob Have Chiefs, Man