Any of the Melanesian people of the Kiriwina ( Trobriand ) Islands, lying off eastern New Guinea.
Their subsistence is based on yams and other vegetables, domesticated pigs, and fish. Trobrianders are noted for their elaborate intertribal trading system, the kula , by which red shell necklaces are traded between permanent trading partners in a clockwise direction around a ring of islands; white shell bracelets are traded counterclockwise. Among the Trobrianders, wealth is extremely important as a sign of power. They were the subject of highly influential studies by Bronis 0142; aw Malinowski .