The monthly crafts market

Every last Saturday of the month, Ela Murray school in front of Ela Beach becomes a hub of activity. On these mornings, various artisans from all over Papua New Guinea bring their handicrafts and various works of art to sell to locals and tourists. This is the best venue in Port Moresby to buy that exotic item that would make for an interesting conversation piece on your mantel or coffee table. 

The area is divided into sections where you can buy the artifact that you want be it cut flowers, jewelry, a painting, native weapons or even a freshly baked snack. If you don't have time to come to the monthly market, your only other alternative is the crafts market in Boroko which is there daily. However, Boroko cannot offer you the security and parking that the monthly market has. To enter, you pay a K1.00 fee. In the market, you can haggle for the price of anything. The earlier you go, the more items you can see. Of course, as the hour gets closer to lunch, prices also start going down as the traders start going home and are in a hurry to offload their wares. The only trade-off is that you only have a choice of what's been left behind by the early birds. 

Here are various photos from the crafts market. I hope you enjoy them. 

Weapons:

axes are popular in western highlands province

shields and spears are popular throughout the entirety of the highlands region



bows and arrows are popular in the eastern highlands


Personal items:

head dresses made from real fathers and a pig tusk necklace made from real pig tusks

tapa cloth made from the tree bark originates from Oro province

turtle shell jewelry is a popular item. i feel bad for the turtles.

the ubiquitous bilum bag woven from wool, nylon or nets which are rolled on the thighs of women while weaving. it is extremely popular. a spin-off to this is the larger version which they call a baby-carrier. 

colourful lap-laps which are sarongs worn at the waist by women

There was also a lot of shell jewelry but I didn't bother taking photos of these as I don't think they're that unique. Shell jewelry is quite common all over the world in the tropical coastal countries and territories.

Decorative pieces:

freshly cut flowers

though Papua New Guinea is not known for its pottery, there are a few that do make them here

bowls with in-laid shells

yam houses & walking canes made from ebony from the trobriands

deer antlers are a popular imbellishment on many PMVs (public motor vehicles). deer can be found and are usually hunted in Gulf province.

life-size carvings of tribesmen carrying a pig. pigs are highly coveted and valued in Papua New Guinea. a pig is usually part of the bride price of a girl.

Sepik masks from the Sepik region, the most spiritual region in the country as well as the location of the largest fresh water crocodiles in the world.

kundu drums made with the skin of the Palai, a local lizard.

buka baskets. these are nice and durable. i use them myself.

there are a growing number of painters in Papua New Guinea. the painting section is quite large. i didn't take photos of the usual painted faces. PNG art is more than painted faces.

these large paintings were offered to me for K200 each. i declined though. i think that was a bargain considering the cost of materials and the time and effort put in making these paintings.

the mother and child paintings are quite nice. the usual painted faces are on the floor.

If you live in Port Moresby and buy these paintings, I suggest that you take it overseas to have it framed. The cost of having anything framed in Papua New Guinea is ridiculous. But if you must know, I can recommend a couple of establishments that will do the framing for you. Leave me a comment here and I shall revert to you with the information.

I hope you like what Papua New Guinea has to offer. As you can see, any of these items are really exotic and would look good in any household. Ciao.