The koteka, also referred to as a horim or penis gourd, is a

penis A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

sheath traditionally worn by native

male Male (symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or ovum, in the process of fertilization. A male organism cannot reproduce sexually without access to ...

inhabitants of some (mainly highland) ethnic groups in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

to cover their

penises A penis (plural ''penises'' or ''penes'' () is the primary sexual organ that male animals use to inseminate females (or hermaphrodites) during copulation. Such organs occur in many animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate, but males do n ...

. The koteka is normally made from a dried-out

gourd Gourds include the fruits of some flowering plant species in the family Cucurbitaceae, particularly ''Cucurbita'' and ''Lagenaria''. The term refers to a number of species and subspecies, many with hard shells, and some without. One of the earli ...

, ''

Lagenaria siceraria Calabash (; ''Lagenaria siceraria''), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed ...

'', although unrelated species such as pitcher-plant (''

Nepenthes mirabilis ''Nepenthes mirabilis'' (; from Latin ''mirabilis'' "wonderful"), or the common swamp pitcher-plantPhillipps, A. & A. Lamb 1996. ''Pitcher-Plants of Borneo''. Natural History Publications (Borneo), Kota Kinabalu. and tropical pitcher plant, is a ...

'') are also used. The koteka is held in place by a small loop of fiber attached to the base of the koteka and placed around the

scrotum The scrotum or scrotal sac is an anatomical male reproductive structure located at the base of the penis that consists of a suspended dual-chambered sac of skin and smooth muscle. It is present in most terrestrial male mammals. The scrotum cont ...

. A secondary loop placed around the chest or abdomen is attached to the main body of the koteka. Men choose kotekas similar to ones worn by other men in their respective cultural groups. For example, Yali men favour long, thin kotekas that help hold up the multiple

rattan Rattan, also spelled ratan, is the name for roughly 600 species of Old World climbing palms belonging to subfamily Calamoideae. The greatest diversity of rattan palm species and genera are in the closed-canopy old-growth tropical forests of ...

hoops worn around their waists, whereas men from Tiom wear double gourds held up with strips of cloth and use the space between the two gourds for carrying small items such as

money Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money are as ...

and

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

Traditions

Two Kanak (Canaque) warriors posing with penis gourds and spears, New Caledonia

The koteka is traditional

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

in certain

highlands societies, including in the Grand

Baliem Valley The Baliem Valley ( id, Lembah Baliem; also spelled Balim and sometimes known as the Grand Valley) is a valley of the Central Highlands in Western New Guinea. Specifically in Highland Papua, Indonesia, which is inhabited mainly by the Dani peopl ...

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, or Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the Melanesian island of New Guinea which is administered by Indonesia. Since the island is alternatively named as Papua, the region ...

and the

Ok Tedi The Ok Tedi is a river in New Guinea. The Ok Tedi Mine is located near the headwaters of the river, which is sourced in the Star Mountains. It is the second largest tributary of the Fly River. Nearly the entirety of the river runs through the Nor ...

and

Telefomin Telefomin is a station town on the border of Sandaun and Western Provinces in Papua New Guinea. The town started during the Second World War after Mick Leahy was assigned to engineer an air-strip in 1944 for the United States for use against th ...

regions of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. The koteka is worn without other

and is tied in an upward position.

Tribal identification

Many tribes can be identified by the way they wear the koteka. The koteka may be pointed straight out, straight up, or at an angle. The diameter of the koteka can also be distinctive to an individual tribe. Contrary to popular belief, there is little correlation between the size or length of the koteka and the social status of the wearer. Kotekas of different sizes serve different purposes; a very short koteka is worn when working, and a longer and more elaborate koteka is worn on festive occasions. The koteka is made of a specially grown gourd. Stone weights are tied to the bottom of the gourd to stretch it out as it grows. Curves can be made in it by the use of string to restrain its growth in whatever direction the grower wishes; the koteka can be quite elaborately shaped in this manner. When harvested, the gourd is emptied and dried. It is sometimes waxed with

beeswax Beeswax (''cera alba'') is a natural wax produced by honey bees of the genus ''Apis''. The wax is formed into scales by eight wax-producing glands in the abdominal segments of worker bees, which discard it in or at the hive. The hive workers ...

or native resins. It can be painted or have shells,

feather Feathers are epidermal growths that form a distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on both avian (bird) and some non-avian dinosaurs and other archosaurs. They are the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates and a premier ...

s and other decorations attached to it. The term ''koteka'' is used as a name of tribal groups across the highlands of New Guinea, in both West Papua and

. For example, in West Papua today, there is an Assembly of Koteka Tribes. It is also used to identify a

tribal group The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

within

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from Indonesia's New Guinea in the west to Fiji in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Va ...

across the highlands of New Guinea.

Attempted eradication

In 1971–1972, the Indonesian New Order government launched "Operasi Koteka" ("Operation Penis Gourd") which consisted primarily of trying to encourage the people to wear shorts and shirts because such clothes were considered more "modern." But the people did not have changes of clothing, did not have soap, and were unfamiliar with the care of such clothing, so the unwashed clothing caused skin diseases. There were also reports of men wearing the shorts as hats and the women using the dresses as carrying bags. Eventually, the campaign was abandoned. Nevertheless, shirts and pants are required in government buildings, and children are required to wear them in school.

Phallocrypts

Phallocrypts are decorative penis sheaths worn in parts of

during traditional ceremonies. They are usually made out of gourds or woven fibers and decorated with feathers, beads,

cowry Cowrie or cowry () is the common name for a group of small to large sea snails, ocean, marine Gastropoda, gastropod Mollusca, mollusks in the family Cypraeidae, the cowries. The term ''porcelain'' derives from the old Italian language, Italia ...

shells, and small metal ornaments. The most elaborate phallocrypts are sold to tourists as souvenirs and are not usually representative of ones actually used in ceremonies.

Use in other regions

Some native tribes in South America and Africa have used penis sheaths. Penis sheaths were sometimes worn by ancient Romans. Roman singers often wore penis sheaths because they believed that doing so would help to preserve their voices. Penis sheaths were also worn by slaves and others to avoid sex.

Traditions

Tribal identification

Attempted eradication

Phallocrypts

Use in other regions

See also

References

Further reading