IN the PNG highlands culture, the kina shell played a significant role as a valuable item. Although bilum was not as valuable as the kina shell, it played a part in the preservation and parcelling of the kina shell itself. Women made bilums that are specifically as parcels to wrap the kina shell.
In the photograph below is a a couple with a Kina Shell and the mother with a bilum in Mt. Hagen, Western Highlands Province, 1971. Photo Credit: Jurgen Trantow.
