Bilum: One of the most beautiful and meaningful crafts of Papua New Guinea

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Bilum (said "BEE lum")is the Tok Pisin word for “bag” but it’s not just any old bag. Bilums are unique to Papua New Guinea (see photo above of some of the bilums I've been given). Nowhere else in the world do they craft bags in this particular way. It's a mark of both cultural identity and pride for Papua New Guinea (PNG). And rightly so, they are some of the most gorgeous craftsmanship and designs I've seen in my travels. 

 

Bilums are very significant in PNG culture. Not only do they use bilums for everything from a purse to carrying produce from the garden, but they also give them as a wedding gifts, use them to hold babies while they sleep, and carry massive loads with them. When someone gives you a bilum it is a sign that they want to build relationship with you and they are even used a a way to propose to someone when you want to marry them. 

 

Not only are bilums important as a craft, but it also shows up in Tok Pisin (the main trade language of PNG) in some pretty neat places. It's part of a word phrase used for "stomach" (bilum bilong kaikai) and also as the word for the womb when a woman is expecting a baby (bilum bilong bebi). It carries things that are most precious and is a valuable resource in and out of the body.  

 

As you can see, bilums are very special. For those of us serving in Bible translation ministry in PNG it’s our desire to see a Bible (God’s Word) in every bilum so that every person can meet and follow Jesus in their every day lives, just as they use bilums in their everyday lives.


 

Check out this 30-second video where you can watch a woman working on a bilum. Woman crafting a PNG bilum As a bonus, you'll get to hear some of the Komano-Kafe language from the Eastern Highlands Province of PNG close to where I live and which is spoken by some of my coworkers. 


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