The palang ( iba,
crossbar
Crossbar may refer to:
Structures
* Latch (hardware), a post barring a door
* Top tube of a bicycle frame
* Crossbar, the horizontal member of various sports goals
* Crossbar, a horizontal member of an electricity pylon
Other
* In electronic ...
), or ampallang is a
male genital piercing
Genital piercing is a form of body piercing that involves piercing a part of the genitalia, thus creating a suitable place for wearing different types of jewellery. Nevertheless, the term may also be used ''pars pro toto'' to indicate all body pie ...
that penetrates
horizontally through the entire
glans of the
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 ...
.
History
![COLLECTIE TROPENMUSEUM 'Twee Kenyah-Dajaks met een penis-staafje de linker heeft tevens een oorbel van houtsnijwerk Borneo' TMnr 10005628](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bb/COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_%27Twee_Kenyah-Dajaks_met_een_penis-staafje_de_linker_heeft_tevens_een_oorbel_van_houtsnijwerk_Borneo%27_TMnr_10005628.jpg)
Penis piercings of
proto-Malay
The term Proto-Malay, which translates to ''Melayu Asli'' (aboriginal Malay) or ''Melayu Purba'' (ancient Malay) or ''Melayu Tua'' (old Malay), refers to Austronesian speakers, possibly from mainland Asia, who moved to the Malay peninsula and ...
origin predated European contact with tribes in (among others) the
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
and
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
(
Dayak people).
Thomas Cavendish claims that in the Philippines the practice was an invention of the women to prevent sodomy (the Philippines variant included a spur).
In Western culture, the ampallang became popular along with the many genital piercings practiced amongst the
gay BDSM
BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...
community prior to the establishment of the body piercing industry in the 1980s and 1990s. Due to its supposed authenticity, this piercing is closely associated with the
modern primitive
Modern primitives or urban primitives are people in developed, or modern nations who engage in body modification rituals and practices inspired by the ceremonies, rites of passage, or bodily ornamentation in what they consider traditional cultu ...
movement but anatomy and use of a palang differs drastically from a modern ampallang. Indeed, traditional palang design is simply a pin used to attach a wooden glans cape extension to the penis.
Procedure
The piercing may be ''transurethral'' (passing through the
urethra
The urethra (from Greek οὐρήθρα – ''ourḗthrā'') is a tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus for the removal of urine from the body of both females and males. In human females and other primates, the urethra con ...
) and named as the European ampallang, whereas the American ampallang is placed horizontally above the urethra, generally back toward the
corona. A variant on this piercing is the
shaft ampallang, which penetrates the shaft of the penis horizontally at any point along its length. The counterpart to this piercing is the
apadravya, which penetrates the glans vertically. The combination of an ampallang and an apadravya is sometimes referred to as the
magic cross.
Health issues
Ampallang is an advanced piercing, and the procedure can be extremely painful. Full healing usually takes between four and six months, but can take a year or more in an American ampallang.
The primary health issues related to this piercing are during the procedure itself and during the healing process. Depending on the placement, there can be a significant amount of
blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
loss, both during the procedure and during the initial healing process. The measurement for the piercing jewelry is typically done by the receiver in private on his erect penis, while the actual piercing is done on his flaccid penis. The long healing process requires that the bearer abstain from sexual intercourse for a lengthy period of time, on the order of six weeks to six months.
It is possible for this piercing to injure or damage the
teeth
A tooth ( : teeth) is a hard, calcified structure found in the jaws (or mouths) of many vertebrates and used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores and omnivores, also use teeth to help with capturing or wounding prey, tear ...
and
soft palate
The soft palate (also known as the velum, palatal velum, or muscular palate) is, in mammals, the soft tissue constituting the back of the roof of the mouth. The soft palate is part of the palate of the mouth; the other part is the hard palate. ...
of the giving party during
oral sex.
If this piercing is transurethral ("European"), it can divert the flow of
urine
Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and in many other animals. Urine flows from the kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder. Urination results in urine being excretion, excreted from the body through the urethra.
Cel ...
, forcing the bearer to sit down or take other measures during urination. The piercing will leave a tube of scar tissue, which will remain even if the jewelry is removed and the piercing allowed to heal.
Functions
Ampallang, once healed, is often pleasurable to the bearer because it stimulates the internal penis tissues.
Jewelry
Straight
barbells
A barbell is a piece of exercise equipment used in weight training, bodybuilding, weightlifting, powerlifting and strongman, consisting of a long bar, usually with weights attached at each end.
Barbells range in length from to above , althou ...
are almost exclusively worn in ampallangs, both initially and after they are healed. Jewelry must be long enough to accommodate the expansion of the penis during
erection
An erection (clinically: penile erection or penile tumescence) is a physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, vascular, ...
, at the risk of significant discomfort for the wearer. After initial healing the piercing can be stretched and larger jewelry can be inserted, reaching sizes above 10 mm in diameter.
References
External links
More information on the ampallang
{{Body Piercing
Penis piercings