Acrylic Bilum (Net Bag)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 7 Nov 2019
label: Collection Date
content: 26 May 2012
name: label: Collector
content: Dr Barbara Andersen
notes: label: Notes
content: Bilum (bag) made of acrylic yarn. Green with yellow, red, and orange square, with yellow embroidered stars inside. Single handle with pompoms at top. Donor notes: Maker, Sekaya. Cost: K40. A rectangular bilum featuring elements from the flag of Eastern Highlands Province. The bilum contains four colors of acrylic yarn: lime green, yellow, red, and orange. The “boss” or main color is lime green which composes the background field. The flag is surrounded by a frame composed of (outside to inside) yellow, red, and orange. The flag itself is a square, diagonally divided, of lime green and red, at the center of which is a seven pointed star embroidered in yellow. Surrounding the larger central star are eight smaller stars, also in yellow. (The official flag also has a representation of the legendary figure Nokondi holding a coffee branch, but this element is not included in the bilum.) The mouth and base are finished with tight rows of fastening stitches in alternating colors. The handle is largely lime green, with stripes of yellow and red at either side, and topped with three “flowers” (pompoms) containing all four colors. The pompoms are joined to the handle with lime green yarn. This shape of bilum is often carried by young men or schoolchildren as it is appropriate for carrying papers or schoolbooks, and the rectangular shape is coded as more masculine. This bilum was purchased at the Goroka bilum market.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 22 Aug 2019
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Goroka, Eastern Highlands Province, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Gahuku
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 2077517
label: USNM Number
content: E435225-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bag
physicalDescription: label: Length - Base To Mouth
content: 30 cm
label: Width - At Base
content: 33 cm
label: Length - Handle
content: 66 cm