PNG bilums take on the 'national identity' tag at the 2015 Pacific Games in Port Moresby

by SENIORL ANZU - PNG Loop 

Bilums mean a lot to PNG women, as carriers or bags for transporting goods and personal items, or for carrying a sleeping infant in village life situations.

The style and shapes of bilums of today are different to those used by women many years back. Today’s bilums are taken to another landscape with the materials that are used, the colours and designs that are selected, and the creativity in weaving and appearance.

Some ‘modern’ bilums come with designs depicting logos and symbols of organisations and events, and even people’s names. Others come with zippers and pockets for holding coins and mobile phones. 

For those who weave bilums, mostly women without full time employment, this is a source of income. Prices of bilums vary, for various reasons. And not only do Papua New Guineans love bilums, as they are predominantly PNG based – other Pacific islanders and foreign visitors would like to possess one.

Thousands of bilums were dished out to medal winners of this year’s Pacific Games in Port Moresby. 

The people of neighbouring Pacific islands admire the PNG bilums. Pitopala Opeti from Solomon Islands, who left Lae on Wednesday after spending more than a week there, bought a highlands bilum for K120 at Lae market. Ben Rakai, also from the Solomon Islands, said he purchased four bilums costing him K250 in total.

Bilum is sold everywhere in Papua New Guinea and every PNG women owns bilums.

A young girl at the bilum market in Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province. 
Image Credit: Kula Infinity / March, 2017. 

Mothers selling bilums in Port Moresby. Image Credit: Erica D Lalau / 2017.‎

A young lass showing off her Madang bilum also known as 'Bilas Bilum' of its content. She uses this bilum daily to carry her personal items. Image Credit: Jannie N. Kunjip / March, 2017.

Samantha Doiki has a lot of bilums, she loves to make a bilum collection but uses only few of them on a daily basis. In this photograph, she has one with her on a casual day. Photograph courtesy of Samantha Doiki / March, 2017.

One of Samantha's Madang bilum. 

Image Credit: Samantha Doiki / March, 2017.

Another of Samantha's Madang bilum collections.
Image Credit: Samantha Doiki / March, 2017.