Women's Wealth: Mats and Baskets

Mats stitched from flattened, wide strips of pandanus are created by women in all areas of Bougainville and Buka islands. In addition to providing a surface to sit or sleep, these mats are often hinged in the middle and used as a form of shelter or cover. The variation in hue of the leaves, dried in the sun, provides slight shifts of tone across the expanse of the mat’s rectangular surface. Artists add only very minimal embroidery in wool or natural vines as decoration, emphasising the subtle beauty of the pandanus.

Baskets are not only containers for carrying or storing everyday goods, but also repositories of time, labour, knowledge and relationships. Baskets of unique local designs link people to specific geographies, family members, histories and cultures. Created from fibres and vines gathered in local forests and gardens, these forms communicate information about a particular environment and ways of living in harmony with it. A basket retains the shape of its raw materials and the traces of bodily movements involved in its construction, and is created using techniques and knowledge passed from one generation to the next. These objects are treasured heirlooms and often play a fundamental role in the expression of cultural identity or as carriers of sacred meanings.