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

penis A penis (; : penises or penes) is a sex organ through which male and hermaphrodite animals expel semen during copulation (zoology), copulation, and through which male placental mammals and marsupials also Urination, urinate. The term ''pen ...

sheath traditionally worn by native

male Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

inhabitants of some (mainly highland) ethnic groups in

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. 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. Many gourds ha ...

, ''

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

'', 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 In most terrestrial mammals, the scrotum (: scrotums or scrota; possibly from Latin ''scortum'', meaning "hide" or "skin") or scrotal sac is a part of the external male genitalia located at the base of the penis. It consists of a sac of skin ...

. 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 (from Malay language, Malay: ''rotan''), 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 clos ...

hoops worn around their waists, whereas Lani men 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: m ...

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

The koteka is traditional

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

in certain

highlands societies, including in the Grand Baliem Valley of

Western New Guinea Western New Guinea, also known as Papua, Indonesian New Guinea, and Indonesian Papua, is the western half of the island of New Guinea, formerly Dutch and granted to Indonesia in 1962. Given the island is alternatively named Papua, the region ...

and the Ok Tedi and Telefomin regions of

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. 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. For Hubula (Dani) people of Baliem Valley, the shape of horim is associated with the social status of the wearer. A curved horim toward the front (''kolo'') is worn by ''Ap Kain'', the leader of Dani confederation, a curved horik to the side (''haliag'') is worn by ''Ap Menteg'' (war general) and ''Ap Ubalik'' (healer or cultural leader). A straight Horim is worn by ordinary people. For Lani people, the angle is the marker of status. If the ''kobewak'' leans to the left the wearer is ''Apendabogur'' (war general). On the other hand if it leans to the right, the wearer is an aristocrat or rich. Straight ''kobewak''s are worn by virgin men. 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 Bee hive wax complex Beeswax (also known as 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 o ...

or resin. 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 an exa ...

s, and other decorations attached to it. The term ''koteka'' is used as a self-proclaimed name by Assembly of Koteka Tribes (DeMMak) organization who claimed to represent ''Koteka people'', a union of seven major koteka-wearing tribes in the central and southern highlands of Papua; namely Lani, Mee, Amungme, Kamoro, Yali, Damal, and Moni with other sub-tribes such as Nggem, Walak, Hubla, Kimyal, Momuna, Ngalik.

Discouragement of usage

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." However 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. As of 2019, it is estimated that only 10%

highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

population (in

Central Papua Central Papua, officially the Central Papua Province () is an Indonesian Provinces of Indonesia, province located in the central region of Western New Guinea. It was formally established on 25 July 2022 from the former eight western regencies of ...

and

Highland Papua Highland Papua () is a provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia, which roughly follows the borders of the Papuan customary region of Lano-Pago (often shortened to La Pago). It covers an area of and had a population of 1,467,050 according to ...

) regularly uses koteka, and it is only used during a

cultural festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

or as a souvenir.

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 in the family Cypraeidae. Cowrie shells have held cultural, economic, and ornamental significance in various cultures. The cowrie was the shell most widely used wo ...

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

Use in other regions

Some native tribes in South America and Africa have used penis sheaths.Heiser CB (1973). The penis gourd of New Guinea. ''

Annals of the Association of American Geographers The ''Annals of the American Association of Geographers''"AAG Newsletter January 2016."
'AAG ...

'' 63: 312–318.

Traditions

Tribal identification

Discouragement of usage

Phallocrypts

Use in other regions

See also

References

Further reading