A global documentary photo exhibition in Sydney signifies bilum from PNG

by CHRISTINA SUMMER 

ALWAYS bulging, because that’s their nature, string bags are almost a thing of the past, relegated to memory by designer totes and paper carrier bags. One of the few string bags I see these days is the orange one my daughter uses to stuff all the beach toys into. This week however I’m reminded of those capacious multi-purpose string bags known as bilums that are traditional to Papua New Guinea. 

The connection? The photographic exhibition Access to Life which has just opened at Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum for World AIDS Day 2012. Sydney is the tenth city in the world to show Access to Life, but the first to add Papua New Guinea as a special regional component.

A PNG flag bilum design made by a woman from Tambul, Western Highlands Province. Image: Elizabeth Bonshek / 2007.

Created by Magnum Photos in partnership with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, the moving images that make up Access to Life have informed and touched millions of people around the world. A series of new photographs from Papua New Guinea have now been added to the existing case studies from Russia, Swaziland, India, Haiti, Vietnam, Mali, South Africa and Peru. Together, these images document the human catastrophe of AIDS and the campaign to make antiretroviral drugs available to all those who need them.

Photographs of Elizabeth Mulunga of Hela Province are part of this new Papua New Guinea section. In these images Elizabeth is shown wearing a vividly coloured bilum on her head, in the traditional manner. The bilum is also on display and Elizabeth is quoted as saying, ‘I make bilums and I have a little coffee…. I take medication every day. Lots of people have died but I have lived’.

In recent years, many women have preferred to use readily-available coloured commercial yarns to make their bilums. It’s easier, and also enables an extensive range of design opportunities and colour combinations. As a result, the women’s bilums (and other bilum-inspired bilumwares) have become distinctly marketable, rather than purely personal and functional items.

Women wear bilums across their foreheads as this makes it easier to carry their frequently heavy loads. Men usually prefer long- handled bilums which they wear over their shoulders, thus keeping their hands free for other purposes. Either way, for both women and men, there is now a definite contemporary swing away from eco-friendly plant-based naturally-dyed string bilums to the vivid colours of synthetic yarns that enable bright patterns and individual fashion statements.

• Christina Sumner is the principal Curator, Design & Society, Powerhouse Museum Collection Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences.
• Article extracted from https://www.maas.museum

Bilum is an item almost seen everywhere at every events and gatherings or just at a scene of everyday life. In this photograph, girls with their bilums on  a cultural day celebration. Image: Belinda Bulda /2017.

A girl with her bilum. Image courtesy of Bilasim Png Magazines /2017.

 

The bilum in this photograph has a design that is rare and unique. Image: Jeveca Kenny Mai /2017.

Bilum - a cultural icon, knitted and looped into the social, economical and cultural fabric of the PNG society.

by MICHAEL KISOMBO

THE Asian and Pacific Arts Gallery acquired six colourful bilums from Bihute, extending its Pacific textile holdings and engaging with the cultural tradition. An NGO, Sisters of Mercy, a faith-based organization in Australia and Papua New Guinea teaches the disadvantaged and prisoners in Bihute, Eastern Highlands Province. The bilums were made by these prisoners.

The bilum is a cultural icon, intricately knitted into the social, economical and cultural fabric of Papua New Guinea. Bilum is the name given to the handmade string bag, made almost entirely by women, through a process known as looping. Bilum-making is a self-taught skill acquired by watching other women, then trial and error until the maker becomes professionally adept. Traditionally, women carried knowledge of which trees and plants would yield good fibres for twining into strings for their bilums.

A sea wave pattern or design bilum made by a women in Tambul, Western Highlands Province. Image: Elizabeth Bonshek / 2007.

        In the Highlands, and in particular Mendi in the Southern Highlands Province, special expeditions were made by mothers, accompanied by young girls, in search of these plants in the jungles. Songs could be heard echoing back from the mountains, and if the search lasted until night fell, the girls would hunt for frogs to take home for the family dinner. The collected plant barks would be dried for several days and later immersed in mud to soften them before extracting the fibres. 

The fibres were then twisted into fine strings with the aid of dry white clay, rubbed onto the makers’ thighs to create a gripping surface. From time to time, other women would assist the makers in looping the strings, as this is both tedious and time-consuming. However, not all women could assist, as some lacked the skill of twisting the fibres to the maker’s preference. Looping the bilum is considered the simplest task, according to most women, and if able to work day and night, a bilum can be completed in less than two weeks. Bilums are categorised according to their usage, from the everyday to special occasions and rituals.

As with language, or tok ples (the local language), bilums differ from place to place and region to region. Most Papua New Guinean people can tell the differences in the designs, colours and styles. For example, bilums from the coast, like the Madang or Sepik, are identified by their unique colouring and looping; while bilums from the Highlands region are knotted with other material features, such as cuscus (marsupial) furs. Eastern Highlands bilums can be easily distinguished from Enga, Simbu or Southern Highlands bilums. The looping technique for which a bilum is recognised is the signature trait of the maker. In the recent past, Highlanders travelling to the coast often took a bilum from there as a souvenir, and vice versa. Nowadays, the bilums of Papua New Guinea have reached not only every part of this country but also stretched out to the four corners of the planet. Even the name ‘bilum’ has been patented by a French shop, which claims that ‘at this time you can only nab bilum bags in Paris’.1

Today, many women in Papua New Guinea have realized the economic value of bilums and are upholding the tradition while innovating with shapes, designs, colours and forms, including a move into high-end fashion. Some women have created cooperative societies and designed websites to sell their products. Corporate and charitable organisations have also recognised the value of bilums and incorporated various groups promoting the skills of bilum-making to other women. The Sisters of Mercy, a not-for-profit, faith-based organisation in Australia and Papua New Guinea, teaches bilum-making skills and other textile techniques to disadvantaged men and women.

One of their projects is teaching embroidery to prisoners in Bihute, in the Eastern Highlands Province. The Gallery recently acquired a group of six of these bags, extending its collection of bilums and bilum wear to engage with this textile form. The five-kilogram rice bags, which are decorated with stitched designs, feature images of loved ones and slogans expressing the makers’ dreams of freedom. Often decorated in the same bright colours as traditional bilums, they would have been worn, like bilum, as a fashionable accessory and to carry personal belongings.

Endnote:
1. A French firm that makes bags and accessories using recycled advertising banners decided to poach and patent the PNG word ‘bilum’. For details, refer to garamut.wordpress.com/2009/02/09/french-firm-poaches-and-patents. 

• Michael Kisombo is a Curatorial Intern, Asian and Pacific Art. Article extracted from http://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au

Emily Andrias Aisa proudly in her bilum dress made by her aunty for Grade 12 graduation at Anglimb Secondary School in Jiwaka Province. Bilum wears are made and sold in PNG. Image Courtesy of Emily Andrias Aisa / March, 2017.

In any social setting, the use of bilum in any form is always present in PNG contemporary society. Marielisha's bilum hat on with her siblings walking home. Image courtesy of Marielisha Ilai / March, 2017.

A man gearing up for a traditional dance with his bilum next to him. Bilums are used as part of ornament and as holder of valuable items during traditional singsing. Image: Samuel Thomas Gaimz. FB / 2017.

Eastern Highlands Governor Hon. Julie Soso is a politician a parliamentarian in the PNG Government. She was gifted with a lot of bilum products before giving a speech at a political rally in Goroka. Image: Google.

In contemporary PNG society, bilum usage is evident everywhere you go. These youths in a social setting with their bilums. 

Image: Marielisha Ilai / March, 2017.

The people of Menyamya in the Morobe Province of Papua New Guinea in their traditional attire with bilum usage in the cultural setting. A Samson Peter image courtesy of Laben Sakale John /March, 2017. 

A bilum is a token of love, holder of magic, reminder of home, memories of lost childhood and a symbol of wealth and position.

by CAROLINE SHERMAN

A bilum bag is a cultural icon, inextricably woven into the social and cultural fabric of Papua New Guinea. People write songs and poems about their Bilums. They are tokens of love, reminders of home, holders of magic and symbols of wealth and position. For many, they are memories of lost childhoods.

If you are given a Bilum bag it is an expression of love and emotion. It is said that 'The happier the weaver, the more beautiful the Bilum'. The women tell traditional stories as they weave; stories of sorcerers, mothers, young girls, babies, mountains and marriage. When your daughter gets married you give her a diamond design Bilum bag, a mountain design on a Bilum indicates the landscape of where you are from. The history of Papua New Guinea is woven into every Bilum bag.

A diamond bilum design made in Tambul, Western Highlands Province. Image: Elizabeth Bonshek / 2007.

 I first saw a Bilum bag in 2014, I was so inspired by its beauty, colours and physical strength. I wanted to better understand the history and technique behind such an original piece of design work. Through my research and my journeys to Papua New Guinea I found a community of women; weaving, caring, story telling and living through the making of Bilum bags. I set up Among Equals to work with these talented women of Papua New Guinea, and to bring my skills and experience as a Fashion and Textile designer of 20 years in London, New York and Sydney, to create a bag of deep cultural significance with a contemporary twist. 

• "The money from Among Equals to the Goroka Bilum weavers has enabled the women to pay for all the little girls to attend school. Your support has meant that we can pay for our healthcare, our traditional obligations and the things we need for our home. It has made a huge difference to us." - Florence Jaukae Kamel

Among Equals is a social enterprise, aimed at empowering Bilum makers in three communities in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Their worlds are complex, often violent and insecure. Through an ongoing relationship with these women my aim is to provide them with sustainable incomes and to help ensure Bilum remains a viable art form for future generations. 

• Caroline Sherman is a Sydney-based fashion and textile designer and the founder 'Among Equals' operating in London, New York and Sydney.   
• Source: Article extracted from http://www.amongequals.com.au

Girls from Mt. Hagen with their preferred bilums on a Sunday for Church.
Image: JLois Paul Pawa Kurii, "Hagen Pride"/ April, 2017.

Girls from Wabag returning home from a nearby market with their bilums. Image: Kandepean Queenish / 2017.

Lazy around on a leisure time, these girls from Tari carrying their casual bilums. Image: Hela Wandarii Tunzup Nong / March, 2017.

Pacific Legal Network (PLN) is proud to support PNG bilum getting beyond the horizon

THE bilum is originally thought to have originated from the highlands of PNG and into the Momase region and later the rest of the country. Today, bilum is the 'national identity' of the country. This was evident when Pacific Games Medal winners were each presented with a bilum in 2015 in Port Moresby. 

This height of bilum promotion has reached another level in the Pacific and the world over. Bilum is sold in many other countries and mostly in Australia. It is not only a national pride but also a souvenir item sold all over the world. 

In France, a bag souvenir shop is named as Bilum Shop, to pay homage to PNG bilum. USA, UK and Germany are countries were bilum is evident in the possession of so many people who have lived and worked in PNG.

Ten-needle bilum pattern made by a women from Tambul, Western Highlands Province. Bilums are taught to have originated from the highlands of PNG. Image: Elizabeth Bonshek / 2007.

In Australia, it is getting a bigger popularity. The Pacific Legal Network (PLN) in Australia has announced it is proud to involve and support the International Trade Centre (ITC) on its women and Trade program in the Pacific to work on the bilum. 

The ITC is a joint subsidiary organ of the United Nations (UN) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) based in Geneva. The project aims to increase the economic participation of women in the economy through trade and micro-business. The initial roll-out of the programme is in Papua New Guinea and is centred around Bilum.

The project is aimed at transforming the traditional and largely informal, fragmented activity of Bilum weaving into an art form and making it an economically viable export product for the benefit of the women involved in the production of the Bilum articles. 

Moved by the economic empowerment of women objectives, PLN Australia and Fairfax Legal have been jointly assisting the ITC in a pro-bono capacity by providing initial structuring advice for the organisation to be established in Papua New Guinea. 

Once established the organisation will assist women in Papua New Guinea through providing them with access to training and educational programmes, Bilum fibre as well as services and facilities to allow them to create Bilum products. 

In late April last year (2016), Sydney lawyers Nitij Pal and Samantha Cook, for the love of bilum, joined forces with Keith Iduhu and Vanessa Kihanges the PNG team on-the-ground, to attend the advisory committee meeting to discuss the establishment of the national association. 

Project Bilum is not only for a great cause, but it is another opportunity for the Sydney and Port Moresby team to work collaboratively together.

Torek Farhadi, ITC Women and Trade Senior Adviser, says "ITC is very much appreciative of PLN making its' expert time available to the project on a pro bono basis. This is a potent model for development, and allows real life practitioners to support economic empowerment of underprivileged women in the Pacific region."

While the current export of bilum is low, and not well organised, there is firm interest from internationally identified buyers and designers for PNG high end products utilising the bilum technique.

A cultural Day celebration with PNG and West Papua students in China - some PNG students have taken pride to show off with their bilums during the celebrations. Bilum has traveled very fast within a short period of time. Image: Mandy Rasta /March, 2017.

Rev. John Mehl with his new PNG hat and bilum. Bilums are loved by many foreigners who set foot in PNG shores. Image: Facebook / 2017.

'The art of weaving bilum’ – from traditional to contemporary fashion in Papua New Guinea

by ALISON ANIS

THE traditional art of weaving bilums or ‘basket’ – which has become the trademark for Papua New Guinea overseas, has, in a more westernized PNG society been revisited with a contemporary approach – in this case, while the designs are, in every sense, traditionally pure, sometimes the materials or tools used to create it, is artificial.

The bilums are hand-woven bags or baskets which are very common and widely used among Papua New Guinean societies.

Bilum products are common and widely used amongst PNG societies.
 Image Credit: Sodua Jexu Sparks / March, 2017.

They are either made from bark of certain trees, kandas or very strong ropes as in other provinces, and even from coconut or pandanus leaves. But the more common ones today are those made from artificial colored rolls of wools and needles – usually purchased from stores.  

Wool-bilums are often accomplished by skilled PNG women who have certain knowledge of the traditional designs from their area of origin.  

          
Image 1 - Bilum used as a bag in the highlands of PNG. Image Credit: Marielisha Ilai / March, 2017. 

Image 2 - Bilum used as a bag in the coastal region of PNG. Image Credit: Mckenzie Photography / 2017.

The most famously done and overused designs are from the Momase region and the Highlands. However, there is also some from the New Guinea Irelands like the Trobriand Islands, as well as the Northern provinces like the Oro.

But how do we classify the traditional Sepik basket, Tolai, Kavieng, Manus, Madang, Milne Bay and those from Bougainville into a more contemporary world?
These baskets are made using traditional bush materials as mentioned earlier and there are different styles, procedures or even expertise utilized for the accomplishment of these homely and traditional trademarks.

 

Bilum are sometimes made to reflect personal trademark and this bilum is specifically made for a girl in Mt. Hagen nicknamed "Gee Pamda". 

Image Credit: Gee Pamda / March, 2017. 

The idea of bilums started in the Highlands region some decades ago. Even before this, the traditional highlanders used the furs from the cuscus or tree possums interwoven together to form bilums, traditionally used as a means of carrying food or other produce.

Possum fur bilum from the Highlands of PNG.
Image Credit: Grey Grey Love / March, 2017.

The traditional highlands bilum are normally worn on the head and also use to carry babies apart from their garden produce. The original Highland’s bilum – with woven furs from tree possums (kapul) is usually shaped into a diamond form. The sides a sewn smoothly together and then tied on both ends, hence, forming a beautiful and colorful bilum with ends tied together.

However, the traditional concept of bilum or bilums in PNG has changed since then. Bilum is viewed today by many local women especially in and around the cities as a form of generating money.

Source: Article extracted from PNG Business and Tourism Directory (PNGBD.COM)

A women from the highlands of PNG with her bilum from the coastal region. Photograph courtesy of Sharon Roy Kenas / March, 2017.

A bilum from the coastal by desgin but owned by a girl from the highlands. Image Credit: Ray Ray Relvee / March, 2017.

A girl wearing a highlands bilum hat and taking selfie with friends in Mt. Hagen. Image Credit: Ray Ray Relvee / March, 2017. 

Two girls from the highlands show off with their bilum hats and taking selfie. Image Credit: Photograph courtesy of Hitz Karoma / March, 2017.

A girl taking selfie with the PNG's Deputy Opposition Leader and PANGU Party Parliamentarian leader Hon. Sam Basil with a Christmas Tree pattern bilum. Photograph courtesy of Mckongo Nash / March, 2017.

Eastern Highlands Governor and PNG woman parliamentarian (politician) Hon. Julie Soso with her two bags and in her bilum hat while making a speech.
Image Credit: Google Images / 2017.

PNG girls with outfits and bilums.
 Image Credit: Melissah Estell Kolemba / March, 2017.

Many PNG girls own more than one bilum and this young lass has many bilums and this is one of the many she has.
Image Credit: Ray Ray Relvee / March, 2017. 

A girl with her bilum from the coastal region of Papua New Guinea.
Photograph courtesy of Ambaii Nokondii / March, 2017.

A  bilum made in Tambul, Western Highlands Province. This two colours (red and yellow) are popular colours being used by a certain tribe in Tambul. Photograph courtesy of Grey Grey Love / March, 2017.

A girl with her bilum made in Tambul, Western Highlands Province. Photograph courtesy of Grey Love / March, 2017.

A girl from the highlands of PNG with her father and her bilum from the coastal region with the Madang bilum pattern. Photographs courtesy of Ray Ray Relvee / March, 2017.

Through only one woman, Florence Jaukae Kamel, the PNG bilum as turned into a fashion industry

Extracted from Pacific Women in Business (http://pacificwomeninbusiness.com.au)

For thousands of years, the art of weaving bilum – a bag made from dried fibre extracted from tree bark, animal fur, sisal or vine – has been passed down from one generation of Papua New Guinean women to the next. For these women bilum has always been part of their cultural heritage, creative identity and way of life.

For more than 12 years, Florence Jaukae Kamel has worked as an artist and designer, producing original works of bilum. For Florence, the tradition she learnt from her grandmother has always been part of her identity as a Papua New Guinean woman. As an artist, her inspiration has come from nature and her interest in fashion.

“I like dressing up and wanted to wear something that was different to what I was seeing on the streets of Goroka,” Florence said.
Initially she started attracting attention for her unique designs inspired by the colours and patterns of the carpet snake and Christmas beetle. But what really put her on the map of the international art world was her bold foray into making fashion garments from bilum.
“Making bilum into something wearable was creatively exciting for me and I’m very proud to see the women of PNG wearing bilum outfits,” said Florence.
It also became a great opportunity for personal and economic success. Florence’s designs were soon commissioned for high-profile events including charity fashion parades for the Red Cross and Salvation Army and the uniforms for PNG’s team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.

As her own business, Jaukae Bilum Products, flourished, Florence wanted to share that success with less fortunate women in her community, and in 2003 established the Goroka Bilum Weavers Cooperative. Now supporting more than 50 female artisans, the Cooperative not only provides a source of income to supplement the seasonal cash crops many of the women rely on, but also much-needed medical and social support.
“Many of the women in our cooperative are HIV positive, homeless and/ or single mothers who really need support,” said Florence.
The mission of the cooperative aligned strongly with Florence’s work as a political and social activist campaigning for women’s rights. As one of the few women in PNG to be elected as a Local Level Government Councilor in 2002, Florence has worked hard to aid and assist mothers, and women in general, to earn an income for themselves.
“As a women’s leader in a male-dominated arena I have advocated strongly to reduce poverty, empower women, promote gender equity and stop violence against women. Through bilum I feel that I making a difference by helping women support themselves,” she said.

After appealing to the PNG Government for support in helping her find new markets for bilum – particularly in lucrative international markets – Florence conceived the idea for an international Bilum Festival.
With the aim to raise the profile amongst global audiences and generate sales for PNG’s bilum artists, the first inaugural Goroka Bilum Festival was held in 2009 in the week preceeding the Goroka Show to attract the attention of tourists attending one of the world’s largest tribal gatherings.

With the support of Pacific Islands Trade & Invest (PT&I), the event has grown from strength-to-strength and is internationally recognized as an important celebration of enduring indigenous artisanship. “Our main problem has always been marketing our products,” said Florence.
Through the support of PT&I’s Creative Arts program, PNG’s bilum industry has transformed into economic success for Highland communities. PT&I Sydney saw the opportunity for bilum to be positioned in international markets as a high-end woven product and has worked tirelessly to provide financial, marketing and technical support, event management expertise and business linkages between artisans in PNG and international buyers.
“By investing resources in the creative arts sector, we are helping to place a commercial value on the traditional knowledge and cultural expressions of Pacific Islands communities such as PNG’s bilum weavers,” said Creative Arts Manager at PT&I’s Sydney Office, Ruth Choulai.

The provision of technical support, capacity building and training has also enabled the female artisans to embrace technology in a way that has reduced the time taken to produce each garment – and produce it to standards that appeal to export markets.
“Although there’s interest in our product at an international level, we still need to educate the market and get our product right so that it blends to their liking. By working with PT&I we have been promoted to markets in Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the United States that we would never have otherwise been exposed to,” said Florence.

The works of Goroka Bilum Weavers Cooperative are now on the walls of leading international galleries including the Australian National Museum in Sydney and the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane; and artists from the Cooperative have travelled as far as London and New York to mentor design students in their craft.

Lasses in bilum wear. Photo courtesy of Lovelyn Howard / March, 2017.

Beauty contestants in bilum wear. Image Credit: from Google, 2017.

Florence (right) with lassess in bilum wear. Image Credit: from Google, 2017.

Girls in bilum wear. Image Credit: from Google, 2017.

Florence (second from left) with girls in bilum wear. Image Credit: from Google, 2017.

A girl in bilum wear. Image Credit: Melanesian Way blog, 2017.

A mother and her daughter in bilum wear. Image Credit: Melanesian Way blog, 2017.

A girl in bilum wear. Image Credit: Facebook, 2017.

Emily Andrias on her Grade 12 graduation day she took on the bilum wear in 2016 at Anglimb Secondary School in Jiwaka Province. Photograph courtesy of Emily Andrias Aisa / March, 2017.

Emily in 2016 with her little aunty.
Image courtesy of Emily Andrias Aisa / March, 2017.

DWU students in bilum wear made by Jaukae Bilum Products in Madang. Image Credit: PNG Loop, 2017.

Simbu Provincial flag bilum wears. Photograph courtesy of Madfox Apo / March, 2017.

A lass with a baby in bilum wear. Photograph courtesy of Madfox Apo / March, 2017.

Girls in bilum wear for the graduation. Photograph courtesy of Marielisha Ilai / March, 2017.

Simbu Provincial flag bilum wear. Image courtesy of Madfox Apo / March, 2017.

Two girls in bilum wear in preparation for their graduation day. Image Credit: Dorothy Ketan Dodomo / March, 2017.