Papua New Guinea is an island nation made of 22 Provinces and these 22 provinces come under 4 regions. It is a nation that is diverse in cultures, languages and traditions. The 22 provinces has their own traditional attire to represent their province. One of the most colorful traditional attires are from the Simbu/Chimbu Province.
The Simbuan Traditional attire is a very colorful attire among other provincial attires. The top head dress of the attire is filled with different species of birds. The black ones are what we called Kumul or bird of paradise especially the Black sicklebill bird, the other red, yellow, and green are parrots. Sometimes they add other types of birds of paradise and other birds also.
The necklace is called the kina shell (it is a traditional money or recognized as legal tender in the past). The covering that covers the bosom for the females are taken from possums and the long necklace in front is made from pig's task.
The face paint usually comes from the ground in Simbu Province but lately they have been using contemporary paints sold at the shops. The leaves from the elbow and above are croton leaves, sometimes they used flowers.
The belt at the waist is made from traditional ropes taken from trees and certain plants. The covering from the waist all the way down below the knee and from the back is made from nylon woven together with possum's fur, it is called purpur. Other certain leaves are like tanget and crotons are added on the waist beside the purpur/covering in front and back.
The face painting is very important because most times the person wearing the traditional attire paints accordingly to the districts where she/he comes from. People from Simbu wear this special traditional attire on special occasions like cultural shows celebration and bride price ceremonies to showcase their culture and traditions.
