The palang () 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 pi ...

that penetrates horizontally through the entire

glans The glans (, : glandes ; from the Latin word for "acorn") is a vascular structure located at the tip of the penis in male mammals or a homologous genital structure of the clitoris in female mammals. Structure The exterior structure of the g ...

of the

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 ...

History

Penis piercings of

proto-Malay The term Proto-Malay, primeval Malays, proto-Hesperonesians, first-wave Hesperonesians or primeval Hesperonesians, which translates to ''Melayu Asli'' (aboriginal Malay) or ''Melayu Purba'' (ancient Malay) or ''Melayu Tua'' (old Malay), refers ...

origin predated European contact with tribes in (among others) the

Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

and

Borneo Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...

(

Dayak people The Dayak (; older spelling: Dajak) or Dyak or Dayuh are the native groups of Borneo. It is a loose term for over 200 riverine and hill-dwelling ethnic groups, located principally in the central and southern interior of Borneo, each with its ...

Thomas Cavendish Sir Thomas Cavendish (1560 – May 1592) was an English explorer and a privateer known as "The Navigator" because he was the first who deliberately tried to emulate Sir Francis Drake and raid the Spanish towns and ships in the Pacific and ret ...

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 ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often Eroticism, erotic practices or Sexual roleplay, roleplaying involving Bondage (BDSM), bondage, Discipline (BDSM), discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given ...

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 adherents of an Alternative lifestyle, alternative subculture in Developed country, developed, Western world, Western countries who engage in body modification rituals and practices inspired by the cere ...

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 (: urethras or urethrae) is the tube that connects the urinary bladder to the urinary meatus, through which Placentalia, placental mammals Urination, urinate and Ejaculation, ejaculate. The external urethral sphincter is a striated ...

) and named as the European ampallang, whereas the American ampallang is placed horizontally above the urethra, generally back toward the

corona Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to: * Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star * Corona (beer), a Mexican beer * Corona, informal term for the coronavirus or disease responsible for the COVID-19 ...

. 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 The apadravya, like the ampallang, is a genital piercing that passes through the glans. While the ampallang passes horizontally through the glans, the apadravya passes vertically through the glans from top to bottom, almost always placed centra ...

, 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 is com ...

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 biological tissue, 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 ...

of the giving party during

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth). Cunnilingus is oral sex performed on the vu ...

. If this piercing is transurethral ("European"), it can divert the flow of

urine Urine is a liquid by-product of metabolism in humans and many other animals. In placental mammals, urine flows from the Kidney (vertebrates), kidneys through the ureters to the urinary bladder and exits the urethra through the penile meatus (mal ...

, 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 Physiology, physiological phenomenon in which the penis becomes firm, engorged, and enlarged. Penile erection is the result of a complex interaction of psychological, neural, ...

, 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