In a small workshop in Port Moresby, 70-year-old Betty Nabi has been making “bilums” for decades. These very solid artisanal bags are a real success across the planet, to the delight of the weavers of Papua New Guinea.
Leaning over her work, she skilfully intertwines plant fibers to give life to these large bags that support the weight of a child as well as heavy provisions.
Symbol of the pride of this indigenous people of the Pacific archipelago, “bilum”, which means “womb” in the local Tok Pisin language, is very popular in Europe, as in North America or Australia.
Fashion magazines like Grazia, Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue Australia have published articles about these patterned bags and the different techniques used to make them. They are dyed with colors specific to each workshop.
Faced with this growing craze, some fear that this bag, one of the pillars of the culture of Papua New Guinea, will become a mere fad and a source of profit for Western exporters.
On the contrary, for the weavers, this success abroad is a source of pride and allows them to support their families.
Mrs. Nabi works for the workshop “Bilum
The manufacture of a “bilum” can take several weeks. The septuagenarian and three other weavers each make up to five a month.
“It makes us proud. There’s something Papua New Guinea in it,” said manager Maureen Charlie, 34.
“It’s part of our identity and our culture. We still do it and my kids will still do it.”
“In the villages, women have no source of income. Sometimes they don’t have time to go to the markets, or don’t have access to a road, so they weave and store their bilums”, explains Ms. Charlie.
The most disadvantaged women of Port Moresby bring the fruit of their labor to stalls in the slums, at the risk of having their stock robbed.
“It’s a good source of income for my family. I make bilums and earn enough to support my daily life,” says Cathy Wariapa, 35, who sells her bags every weekend in a safer place: within the confines of a hotel.
“Sometimes we don’t sell. When there are no buyers, we bring them back.”
The bags are usually made and worn by women, but more and more men in Papua New Guinea are wearing them around their necks.
“If a woman doesn’t wear a bilum, it’s said to be not a woman,” says Ms Charlie. When she wears one, she says she “feels like a woman and comes from Papua New Guinea”.
The precious bags are often offered to friends and family or used during welcoming rituals, sometimes placed on the ground in front of the guests.
But the technique of bag weaving – which they inherited from their mothers and grandmothers – is not just about money for them.
“We can do bilum anytime, forever,” says Betty Nabi. “We will not stop”.
06/06/2023 10:37:24 – Port Moresby (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
