Bilum

“They come in different patterns, each pattern resembling certain tribe or clan. More complex and specific patterns are made for carrying during public appearances or displayed during the ceremonial events.

The special ceremonial events include yam festivals, tambuan dances, bride price payment, dead compensation and barter system between the river people and the inland wosera people.

The complex patterns are of inheritance and only very few ladies in a village possess those inherited talents. The Wosera people are the only tribe that maintains the originalities of the bilum patterns and treasures the complexity of their inherited patterns and it is the only significance of that area.”               

How To For Papua New Guineans by E. Mathias

Florence Jaukae Kamel, a Papua New Guinea artist and designer, is changing the way a traditional craft is thought of and used. In the past few years there’s been a creative movement in PNG that's given rise to a radical shift in the way people think about bilum, and Florence is the brains behind this change.

Bilum is a handwoven fabric in Papua New Guinea that has traditionally been used to make bags. The bags are a symbol of a woman's social standing, and are worn on the head by married women to carry shopping goods, tools, and children. 

Bilum bags, made in the traditional way, are handmade using local plant materials – reeds, fibre from tree bark, sisal, or vine - which are twisted into a yarn that’s woven into a stretchy fabric using a knotless netting technique using a single needle. They can also be made by crocheting. Feathers and fur are sometimes added as decorative details.

A shift happened in the use of the bilum technique when Florence Jaukae Kamel challenged the norm and started to use the technique to make items other than bags. She made dresses and hats. 

Florence flipped the traditional thinking behind using bilum. Because of her, it's not just a means to an end. Rather, she's separated it from the ties to social standing, and has used it as a fabric. The bilum fabric is so versatile that it can be used to make any number of items, including bags, hats, and dresses (including wedding dresses). 

This has been a radical change in perspective. And that change in thinking was also the beginning of a change in PNG womens’ lives. 

In 2012, Florence started a company that sells her bilum fashion designs, Jukae Bilum Products. She also founded the Goroka Bilum Weavers Cooperative (a collective of Goroka bilum women weavers), and the Goroka Bilum Festival.

In September, 2014, Florence was invited to participate in the International Trade Centre’s Women and Trade Programme, which paired women designers from Ethiopia, India, Mongolia, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, and Peru with students from the London College of Design, and New York City’s Parsons New School of Design. The designs created from this project were featured in a runway event in NYC.

Below is a photo of the bilum dress that was shown during the LDNY Festival Launch.

Follow Florence and the Goroka Bilum Festival on Facebook.

If you'd like to know more about bilum, check out our posts How to Make a Bilum String Bag and Bilum Videos.