the distribution).” They had kept a coco-nut at the same stage of development in their village, and sent others to to all the neighbouring communities. This would give a first approach in fixing the date, which would be appointed more precisely when the feast was close at hand.
The custom of associating the so’i with Kula is practised as far as Tubetube. In Dobu, there is no distribution of valuables at the mortuary feast. They have there another custom, however; at the final mortuary distribution, they like to adorn themselves with armshells and necklaces of the Kula—a custom entirely foreign to the Trobrianders. In Dobu therefore, an approaching mortuary feast also tends to dam up the valuables, which, after its performance will ebb away in two waves of mwali and so’ulava along both branches of the Kula. But they have no custom of distributing these valuables during the final mortuary feast, and therefore the release of the vaygu’a would not be as sudden as in a so’i.
The same word—so’i—is used to denote the mortuary festivities over a wide area in the country of the Massim. Thus, the natives of Bonabona and Su’a’u, on the South Coast of New Guinea celebrate annually in November to January festivities, associated with dancing, gifts of pigs, the building of new houses, the erection of a platform and several other features. These feasts, which are held in an inter-connected series each year in several different localities, I had opportunities, as mentioned before, to see in three places, but not to study. Whether they are associated with some form of exchange of valuables I do not know. Mortuary feasts in other districts of the Massim are also called so’i.6 What is the relation between these feasts and those of the Northern Massim I am unable to say.7
These considerations bring us more and more to the point, where the two branches of the Kula which we have been following up from the Trobriands Southwards and Eastwards bend back again and meet. On this remaining part of the Kula, on which my information, however, is scanty, a few words will be said in the next Chapter.