What’s In A Bilum?: Papua New Guinea’s Iconic String Bag

Article – RNZAcross the country’s hundreds of cultures the iconic string bag functions as a system of knowledge, writes Scott Waide.Scott Waide, RNZ Pacific PNG correspondentFirst Person – What’s in a bilum? The string bag carrying Papua New Guinea’s names, rules, and memoryIn Papua New Guinea, the bilum is among the most familiar objects of daily life. “For a young bride or a young girl, a special bilum called wal kupun symbolises womanhood. A baby bilum is wane nuu, and a woman’s everyday bilum is enda nuu,” says Jenny Panapen. It is the knowledge carried with it: the names that instruct use, the rules that regulate authority, and the stories embedded in pattern and form.