“Wanem dispela ‘olgeta samting’?”[i]
A generic everything
Craft and artefacts
From places where we’ve lived.
Woven straw mat
For picnics in PNG or at the beach
Beaded necklaces as farewell gifts
Lufa rugs in grey or white.
A favourite Buka basket
Far too small for even a small pikinini[ii].
Or a serving tray for canapes.
Bilums laboriously woven
Will carry heavy weights –
Babies or kaukau[iii]
Or many beach towels.
Decades old tapa cloth from Oro
Now live at the Queensland Museum.
Fierce faces carved in wood
Striped ebony the choicest timber
Dolphins and fish
Sharks and turtles.
Dukduk dancer
Beaten in copper.
All traditionally crafted
Of no value to others
Precious memories for us
Our life story as décor.
Tok Pisin:
em i orait – it’s okay
olgeta – all
olgeta samting – everything
————————–
[i] What is this “everything”?
[ii] Baby/child
[iii] Sweet potato
Family history across the seas 
Do you have a photo of the “Decades old tapa cloth from Oro, Now live the Queensland Museum”? At a museum, WOW. As for the decor items, they have value in your family memories.
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There are some photos of tapa cloth from Oro on the Qld Museum site but were they formerly his parents? We need to follow it up. But here’s an example.
http://www.collections.qm.qld.gov.au/search.do?view=detail&page=1&id=1518925&db=object
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Thanks. It’s interesting. Looks like it could be soft like cellulose cloth. I need to see one closer up. Techniques to make materials is always interesting.
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It gets softer with age I think. I suspect that my in-laws donated it to the museum because it would have better preservation.
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This YouTube video shows how it’s made in Tonga. I’m sure it would be similar in PNG. https://youtu.be/zdHOf1Q6GEE
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Wow! Quite the collection.
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