A few days before the appointed date of the departure of the Kula expedition there is a great stir in the villages. Visiting parties arrive from the neighbourhood, bringing gifts mostly of food, to serve as provisions for the journey. They sit in front of the huts, talking and commenting, while the local people go about their business. In the evenings, long conferences are held over the fires, and late hours are kept. The preparation of food is mainly woman’s work, whereas the men put the finishing touches to the canoes, and perform their magic.
Sociologically the group of the departing differentiates itself of course from those who remain. But even within that group a further differentiation takes place, brought about by their respective functions in the Kula. First of all there are the masters of the canoe, the toliwaga, who will play quite a definite part for the next few weeks. On each of them fall with greater stringency the taboos, whether those that have to be kept in Sinaketa or in Dobu. Each has to perform the magic and act in ceremonies. Each will also enjoy the main honours and privileges of the Kula. The members of the crew, the usagelu, some four to six men in each canoe, form another group. They sail the craft, perform certain magical rites, and as a rule do the Kula each on his own account. A couple of younger men in each canoe, who do not yet kula, but who help in the work of sailing, form another class, and are called silasila. Here and there a small boy will go with his father on a Kula expedition — such are called dodo’u — and makes himself useful by blowing the conch shell. Thus the whole fleet consists of four classes, that of the toliwaga, the usagelu, the helpers and the children. From Sinaketa, women, whether married or unmarried, never go on overseas expeditions, though a different custom prevails in the eastern part of the Trobriands. Each toliwaga has to give a payment in food to his usagelu, and this is done in the form of a small ceremony of distribution of food called mwalolo, and held after the return from the expedition, in the central place of the village.
A few days before the sailing, the toliwaga starts his series of magical rites and begins to keep his taboos, the women busy themselves with the final preparation of the food, and the men trim the waga (canoe) for the imminent, long journey.
The taboo of the toliwaga refers to his sexual life. During the last two nights, he has in any case to be up late in connection with his magical performances, and with the visits of his friends and relatives from other villages, who bring provisions for the voyage, presents in trade goods, and who chat about the forthcoming expedition. But he has also to keep vigil far into the night as a customary injunction, and he has to sleep alone, though his wife may sleep in the same house.
The preparations of the canoe are begun by covering it with plaited mats called yawarapu. They are put on the platform, thus making it convenient for walking, sitting and spreading about of small objects. This, the first act of canoe trimming, is associated with a magical rite. The plaited leaves are chanted over by the toliwaga on the shore as they are put on the canoe. Or, in a different system of Kula magic the toliwaga medicates some ginger root and spits it on the mats in his hut. This is a specimen of the magical formula which would be used in such a rite:
Yawarapu spell
„Betel-nut, betel-nut, female betel-nut; betel-nut, betel-nut, male betel-nut; betel-nut of the ceremonial spitting !”
„The chiefs’ comrades; the chiefs and their followers; their sun, the afternoon sun; their pig, a small pig. One only is my day” — here the reciter utters his own name — „their dawn, their morning.”
This is the exordium of the spell. Then follows the main body. The two words boraytupa and badederuma, coupled together, are repeated with a string of other words. The first word of the couple means, freely translated, „quick sailing”, and the second one, „abundant haul”. The string of words which are in succession tacked on to this couple describe various forms of Kula necklaces. The necklaces of different length and of different finish have each their own class names, of which there are about a dozen. After that, a list of words, referring to the human head, are recited:
„My head, my nose, my occiput, my tongue, my throat, my larynx, etc., etc.” Finally, the various objects carried on a Kula expedition are mentioned. The goods to be given (pari); a ritually wrapped up bundle (lilava); the personal basket; the sleeping mat; big baskets; the lime stick; the lime pot and comb are uttered one after the other.