Yentchan Village, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea

buy bilums from JungleOutpost.com and NewGuineaArt.com

Figure 1: Small bilum or net bag. Bilum string is made from the inner bark of trees, pandanus fiber and other long-fibered plant materials. Sometimes additional decorative fur, feathers or other items are twisted into the string. The knotting technique uses a continuous figure eight.

Figure 2: Yentchan clan statue with man and hornbill bird.

Yentchan has a large Haus Tambaran sited on a bluff beneath the coconut palms that mark the location of permanent villages. Sometimes young boys scurry up to bring down fresh coconuts. A slice is cut off the top with a bush knife and the cool milk inside is refreshing on a hot, sticky afternoon. No one sits under the coconut palm; the falling nuts are deadly.

The women have bilas (shell jewelry) and bilums(string bags) for sale and sometimes the men have a few carvings.

buy bilums from JungleOutpost.com and NewGuineaArt.com

Order now: Art Dealer in the Last Unknown, Ron Perry and New Guinea Art, the early years: 1964 - 1973 by Carolyn Leigh and Ron Perry, 320 pages of adventure, over 450 early photographs - join Ron in the jungles of New Guinea on his search for tribal art.

Browse OCEANIC ART:

Collecting New Guinea art in the field since 1964.