page_title: Bilibil people
section_title: Pot making
hierarchical_section_title: Bilibil people / Pot making
caption_attribution_description: English: Finsch, Otto (1888) Samoafahrten. Reisen im Kaiser Wilhelms-Land und Englisch-Neu-Guinea in den Jahren 1884 u. 1885 an Bord des Deutschen Dampfers "Samoa", Ferdinand Hirt &amp; Sohn, Leipzig, p.&#160;82 Retrieved on 26 May 2013.
context_page_description: Prior to 1904, the Bilibil people lived on an island offshore from Madang, Papua New Guinea, trading clay pots along the coast from Karkar Island to western Morobe Province. The island was too small to produce enough food for the inhabitants, and the trade therefore was an essential element of their life. They moved to the mainland to their existing village site to improve their subsistence levels. They speak the Bilibil language, an Austronesian language.
context_section_description: Bilibil women make pots, which are still produced in the traditional way. Clay for the pots is collected locally, and mixed with sand and water. The pots are hollowed out with stones and smoothed on the outside by beating with a flat board. Before they are fired, red clay is painted on the pots. This turns them a glossy red and black when they are pulled out of the fire.
  The pots are put to many uses; most importantly, they are used for bride price ceremonies. Sometimes pots are still bartered for food. Inland people meet the Bilibils at a pre-arranged place, and pots are exchanged for taro and yams from the mountains. No money is used in these exchanges.
caption: Women potters from Bilibili, 1884-1885 sketch by Otto Finsch[1]
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