page_title: Koteka
section_title: Different uses
hierarchical_section_title: Koteka / Different uses
caption_attribution_description: English: Aboriginal shell Lonka Lonka Français&#160;: Nacre gravée art aborigène
context_page_description: The koteka, horim, or penis gourd is a penis sheath traditionally worn by native male inhabitants of some ethnic groups in New Guinea to cover their genitals. They are normally made from a dried-out gourd, Lagenaria siceraria, although other species, such as Nepenthes mirabilis, are also used. They are held in place by a small loop of fiber attached to the base of the koteka and placed around the scrotum. There is a secondary loop placed around the chest or abdomen and attached to the main body of the koteka.
  Men choose kotekas similar to ones worn by other men in their cultural group. For example, Yali men favour a long, thin koteka, which helps hold up the multiple rattan hoops worn around their waist. Men from Tiom wear a double gourd, held up with a strip of cloth, and use the space between the two gourds for carrying small items such as money and tobacco.
context_section_description: Phallocrypts are decorative penis sheaths worn in parts of New Guinea during traditional ceremonies. They are usually made out of gourds or woven fibers and decorated with feathers, beads, cowry 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.
  A phallocrypt can also be a simple ornament hung from male genitalia as part of a cultural expression, for ceremonial use or pure decoration. Among a number of ancient and modern people throughout the Oceanic world, Africa and many parts of the Americas it was (and still is in some places) a common form of ornamentation. Some Aboriginal peoples of Australia wore an ornate carved-pearl-shell type called a Lonka Lonka. It is hung from the genitals by a twisted thong made of human hair. They are often ornately engraved with mainly geometric patterns and the grooves were colored with reddish ochre. Some South American cultures actually hung heavy, carved jade and other hardstone ornaments from piercings through the skin of their penis and scrotum. These were usually of a temporary ritualistic nature.
caption: A Lonka Lonka, an ornate carved-pearl-shell type of phallocrypt worn by some Aboriginal peoples of Australia
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