Acrylic Bilum (Net Bag)
date: label: Accession Date
content: 7 Nov 2019
label: Collection Date
content: 8 Apr 2012
name: label: Collector
content: Dr Barbara Andersen
notes: label: Notes
content: Large bilum (bag) made of acrylic yarn. Blue with white horizontal stripes and black and white ziigzag (?) motif. Single handle. Long fringe along the sides and attached to one side. Donor notes: Maker, Rita Alfin. Cost: K50. A large bilum worked in blue, white, and black with 3 “rounds” or tiers and four vertical sets of dangling strings (purpur). The “Madang” side is constructed using 8 separate strands interworked, referred to as an “eight needle” technique. This pattern is popularly associated with Madang province and is iconic of the region, though it is customarily worked using bush rope fibers dyed pink and purple. The maker adapted the pattern and general shape of a Madang bilum but altered the color scheme and fiber composition.The opposite side, meant to be “hidden” against the body, was described as being worked in “Minangibuprak style”. Minangibuprak (Kuman language, Simbu Province) was translated by informants as “straight straight”. Minangibu is also the Kuman term for a bilum spacer: a flat piece of stiff paper, plastic, bamboo or other plant material used to hold stitches during the looping process and maintain a consistent loop size. “Madang” bilums customarily have an undecorated or minimally decorated “hidden side” worn facing the body while the “Madang” side is displayed against the wearer's chest or back. This bilum was made to be worn during the graduation ceremony for an agricultural training program, and the color scheme mirrors that of the graduation gowns. The dangling strings at sides and bottom are referred to as purpur, which is also the Tok Pisin word for a women's traditional grass skirt associated with Madang province.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 22 Aug 2019
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Mirane, Simbu Province, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Chimbu (Kuman)
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: E435206-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Bag
physicalDescription: label: Length - Mouth To Base (Excluding “Purpur” Tassels)
content: 30 cm
label: Width - At Base
content: 69 cm
label: Length - Handle
content: 41 cm