Moka exchange

The Moka is a highly ritualized system of exchange in the Mount Hagen area, Papua New Guinea, that has become emblematic of the anthropological concepts of "gift economy" and of "Big man" political system. Moka are reciprocal gifts of pigs through which social status is achieved. Moka refers specifically to the increment in the size of the gift; giving more brings greater prestige to the giver. However, the reciprocal gift giving may be confused with profit-seeking, as the lending and borrowing of money at interest.

This gift exchange system was analyzed by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins as a means of distinguishing between the exchange principles of reciprocity and redistribution on the one hand, and the associated political principles of status and rank on the other. Sahlins used this example to contrast the regional political differences between the status-based "Big man" political system of Melanesia that engage in gift exchange, with the socially ranked "Chiefly" political systems of Polynesia associated with redistributive systems.

Moka

Moka is a village in Mauritius located in the Moka District, the western part of the village also lies in the Plaines Wilhems District. The village is administered by the Moka Village Council under the aegis of the Moka District Council. According to the census made by Statistics Mauritius in 2011, the population was at 8,846. The elevation is 203 meters and can be up to 425 meters in some places. Moka is directly on the other side of the Moka Range from Port Louis. The village is close to the mountain Le Pouce and the town Beau-Bassin Rose-Hill. Réduit is a suburb of the village where the State House and University of Mauritius is situated. The village is also home to the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation and the Mahatma Gandhi Institute.

History

Housing boom

Moka is centrally located in Mauritius and as such has experienced a real estate development boom in the past few years. This was mainly encouraged by the development of the CyberCity two kilometers away in Ebene. Another contributing factor to this property business was the fact that since Mauritius will not benefit from preferential prices for its sugar by the European Community and World Trade Organization, sugar estates quickly started real estate business units that would convert the land under sugar cane culture to residential lands. From 2004 to 2006, Moka saw five property estate developments.

Moka (disambiguation)

Moka may refer to:

Places

See also

Moka pot

The moka pot is a stove-top or electric coffee maker that produces coffee by passing boiling water pressurized by steam through ground coffee. It was patented for the first time in Italy by the inventor Luigi De Ponti for Alfonso Bialetti, in 1933. Bialetti Industrie continues to produce the same model under the name "Moka Express".

The moka pot is most commonly used in Europe (especially Italy) and in Latin America. It has become an iconic design, displayed in modern industrial art and design museums such as the Wolfsonian-FIU, Museum of Modern Art, the Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum, the Design Museum, and the London Science Museum. Moka pots come in different sizes, from one to eighteen 50 ml servings. The original design and many current models are made from aluminium with Bakelite handles.

Variations and brands

Traditionally, moka pots are made of aluminium and are used over a flame or electric range. The aluminium moka pots cannot be used on induction stoves. There are, however, also many stainless steel models available. Electric self-heating moka pots are also available, as well as induction specific moka pots made of a titanium-alloy base.