RSSIn Papua New Guinea, modern department complexes rub shoulders with quaint little stores and artefact shops where you can try your hand at gentle bargaining.
Shop for masks, wood carvings, especially those from the Trobriand Islands, drums, pottery, colorful cloth, seed jewelry, shells and shell items. The colorful handwoven string bags called bilums are very popular. While most bilums are now made from colorful yarn, traditional brown bilums made from rope are also available. The area along Sepik River has many items worth making a good buy but the area is becoming increasingly more commercial. Also look at the beautiful Buka reed trays and baskets in Rabaul and Lae. There is limited duty-free shopping. Bargaining is not customary, though some price haggling may be acceptable in the city markets. Department stores and larger stores have fixed prices.
Pottery
The village of Aibom, near the Chambri Lakes, is the only place on the Sepik that specializes in pottery.
There is also pottery at Yabob and Bilbil Village near Madang and at Milne Bay. Arts and Crafts are as diverse as they are distinctive. Pottery, weapons, carvings and basket work are just a few of the handicrafts sold throughout Papua New Guinea, the world's largest producer of tribal arts and crafts.
Artefacts
There is a fascinating selection of masks, including ancestral and spirit masks which are traditionally the most important. Boys wear them with woven body shrouds which can also be purchased. Decorated boards are popular objects in Papuan Gold culture as are boats, prows, thought to be protective spirits to ward off sickness and evils.
Shields come in all shapes and sizes and are made of hide stretched over a frame work. Stools, tables, and head dress are ornate and carry intricate carving while fishing hooks were suspended in the men's house and represented spirits which helped in fighting, hunting and warding off disease. Skull racks for both enemies and relatives make novel souvenirs and are nicely decorated.
Musical Instruments
Musical instruments, mostly hand drums, are made from wood with the skin of snake, lizard or tree kangaroo stretched tightly over the mouth and glued to the rim with tree sap. Finally jewellery, body ornaments and accessories are made up of a number of components including pigs teeth, shell, orchid stems, dogs teeth, seed, snake spine and pigs tusks.
