What is the kula ring?

The kula is a ceremonial exchange that links the Trobriand Islands with other islands of Milne Bay in a ring. Two kinds of shell valuables travel around it in opposite directions: necklaces of red shell discs, called soulava, go clockwise, and white shell armbands, called mwali, go anticlockwise. A partner receives a piece from one side and in time passes it on to the other, so the valuables are held for a while rather than kept, and a famous piece is known by name and by the people who have held it. The exchange continues between the islands.

Where do visitors stay on the Trobriand Islands?

In one of a few simple guesthouses on Kiriwina, or as guests in a village. Both are arranged before the flight, and the hosts meet the plane at the airstrip. The same hosts arrange the guide for village visits, a boat to the smaller islands and, in season, a visit to the harvest dancing.

Travel deep dive

The Trobriand Islands: Village Life Around the Yam Harvest

The Trobriand Islands are a group of low coral islands in the Solomon Sea, off the eastern end of mainland Papua New Guinea and part of Milne Bay Province. Kiriwina, the largest, holds most of the villages, and a visit is spent in them: among the yam gardens and yam houses, with the carvers at work and, after the harvest, the dancing. Few travellers make the journey, and a stay is a simple guesthouse or a night in a village, arranged before arrival. The islands are reached by a domestic flight to the airstrip on Kiriwina, where the hosts meet the plane.

Updated 2026-10-05

Kiriwina and the smaller islands

Kiriwina is long and flat, a coral island of gardens, palm groves and villages, with a reef-sheltered lagoon along its western side. Losuia, on that western shore, is the main settlement and the islands' government station. Kaileuna, Kitava and Vakuta, the other inhabited islands of the group, lie close by and are visited by boat from Kiriwina when the hosts arrange it.

Yam houses and the harvest

Yams are the measure of a household on the islands. After the harvest they are stacked in yam houses, raised log stores built with gaps between the logs so that the crop inside can be seen, and a full yam house speaks for the standing of its owner; a chief's is the grandest in the village. The harvest is followed by milamala, the harvest festival, a season of dancing and of visits between villages. It is not fixed to a calendar date, so a visit meant to coincide with it is planned with the hosts.

Cricket on the village ground

Cricket came to the islands with missionaries, and the islanders made it a game of their own. Village plays village, the sides are not held to eleven players, the players take the field in paint and decoration, and a fallen wicket is met with chanting and dance. A match happens when two villages arrange one, so a visitor sees it by chance or through the hosts, not on a schedule.

Ebony carving

Trobriand carvers work in dark ebony, and their figures, bowls and walking sticks are sold in the villages, often by the carver who made them. The price is agreed with the carver and paid in cash. The boards carved for the prow of a canoe, painted in red, black and white, are made on the islands too.

Visiting a village

Each village and its land belong to its people, so a visit is made with a guide from the island, who introduces the visitor and agrees a contribution to the village beforehand. Photographs of people are asked for, not taken. Purchases and contributions are made in cash, in kina brought from the mainland. Malaria occurs on the islands and medical care is basic, so the health preparation for Papua New Guinea is done before the flight.

This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.