Koteka and the Story of Resistance

A visitor to the National Museum, Central Jakarta, smiled amusedly when observing one of the Papuan ethnographic collections, a long, brown sheath made from dried gourd fruit with the Latin name Lagenaria siceraria. The description on the display case read: "penis sheath".

"But it doesn't seem safe for the penis," said Gita Primasari, a visitor.

Gita may not have known that it isn't just a penis sheath, but also a marker of social status and even a symbol of resistance. It is one of the traditional garments worn by some Papuans, especially in the highland areas.

For the Dani people, the largest tribe inhabiting Baliem Valley in the province of Highland Papua, the penis cover is called holim. Meanwhile, the dried gourd that is the main ingredient of the sheath is called kio. The gourds are planted in the yard around the house complex (osilimo) which consists of several housing units.

"Koteka" itself comes from the Mee language, formerly called Ekagi or Ekari language, which means clothing. This language is spoken by the Mee people, an ethnic group from the western part of the Central Highlands in Papua, which now include Paniai, Dogiyai, Deiyai, Intan Jaya and Nabire regencies. The name "koteka" was introduced by Dutch government school teachers who taught in the Baliem Valley in the late 1940s to 1950s.

"Currently, people who still wear koteka are found in the Mee Pago (Mee and Moni tribes) and La Pago (Lani, Dani, Yali, Katengban, and Ngalum tribes). These tribes mostly live in the Central Highlands region of Papua (stretching from Lake Paniai, Baliem Valley, and Jayawijaya mountains)," Ibiroma Wamla, a student of Papuan customs and culture in Jayapura, told Historia.

The Making of Koteka

Koteka starts to be shaped during the gourd planting period. After a few months of growth, the gourd is tied with a stone to get an upright shape. To get a curved gourd shape, before harvesting, the stone is removed.

The formation process of the gourd has a specific purpose. In the Baliem community, the shape of the koteka signifies the social class of the wearer, where the curved koteka is only worn by people who have influence in the community.

"The koteka with the curved front end (kolo) is worn by Ap Kain or the leader of the confederation (clan leader). The middle class wears a koteka with the tip curved to the side (haliag). They include Ap Menteg (warlord) and Ap Ubalik (healer and traditional leader). Meanwhile, the upright ones can be used by ordinary people," Ibiroma said.

Gourds that are ready for harvest are picked and then dried in the fireplace. After drying, the contents of the gourds are removed until the hard skin remains. The cleaned gourd fruit is then dried again on the fireplace, and then attached to the penis shaft.

"The process takes about one to two weeks. The longest is the drying process. The process is usually for several koteka, not just one koteka," said Ibiroma.

To add to the impression of manliness and attractiveness for the opposite sex, the tip of the koteka is usually attached to a tuft made of chicken or bird feathers. To prevent it from falling off when worn, the koteka is tied with a fine rope around the waist.

Children who are five years old are allowed to wear the koteka. Once attached, the koteka is one with its owner, and will not be replaced until it is broken.

Operation Koteka

Koteka has been known for centuries. Dutch missionaries, who stationed their first post in Papua in 1855, encouraged inland communities to abandon their habit of wearing koteka. For those who wanted to go to school, they gave them full sets of clothes. However, people in the Central Highlands didn't completely abandon their koteka. In the 1950s the missionaries finally focused on other issues and left the issue of how people dressed behind.

However, koteka became a problem under the New Order government. Considered a symbol of primitiveness, the government launched Operation Koteka in 1971-1974. The program was initiated by Brigadier General Acub Zainal, commander of Kodam XVII/Cendrawasih and vice chairman of the West Irian Regional Development Implementation Agency and was soon approved by Jakarta.

The program covered political, social, and economic fields with the aim of improving living standards and developing people's culture. The first phase began on August 17, 1971, with operation targets including Wamena (Baliem Valley), Enarotali (around Lake Paniai), and Wagete (around Lake Tigi).

The operation was coordinated by the Koteka Operations Command, a joint civilian and military body, based in Jayapura. A year later, by decree of the minister of home affairs, the operation was placed under the Task Force for the Development of Inland Communities Unit IV under the name Guidance of Inland Communities.

"Acub Zainal ran Operation Koteka to help prepare Irianese people to deal with the outside world," wrote Nurinwa Ki S. Hendrowinoto in Acub Zainal: I Love The Army.

The operation didn't only target koteka, but also straw skirts called sale (for virgins) and yokal (for married women). The government distributed free clothes to the people. Men were given two pieces of shorts while women received a cotton sarong.

"It is projected that the koteka culture will disappear from West Irian in 1973," said Acub Zainal as reported by Kompas, August 4, 1971.

This program received rejection and resistance from the local community. A number of reports indicate coercive actions such as confiscation and burning of koteka, even acts of violence. "When the Dani people resisted the government's efforts to 'civilize' their people, they were shot and killed," wrote Wyn Sargent, an American photojournalist who came to Papua in 1972, in People of the Valley.

A Papua New Guinea newspaper reported the Baliem people's refusal. Not long after that, the military arrested and detained the chiefs of Ukomeheri and Ikimaben. On March 10, 1973, one of them, Chief Ikimaben, died. "The reaction to his death came in the form of an uprising of the Baliem people," wrote the Post Courier, September 3, 1973.

The program clearly failed. Apart from facing resistance, the government also didn't follow up on the provision of clothing. Hygiene facilities such as soap and detergent were also not provided. At that time, there weren't many shops selling clothes and other equipment.

"This effort was of course unsuccessful, because like people everywhere, customs that have been cultivated from an early age cannot be expected to change suddenly. Without being forced by Operation Koteka they have come out of the Stone Age by themselves," Koentjaraningrat wrote in Irian Jaya: Membangun Masyarakat Majemuk (Irian Jaya: Building a Plural Society).

A Symbol of Resistance

Until now, a small part of the Papuan community still wears koteka. Young people usually wear it for certain moments or events. Some schools that hold cultural activities allow students to wear koteka. At cultural events, such as the Baliem Valley festival or other carnivals, there are many young people wearing koteka. Even during Easter mass, the Catholic church allows its congregation to wear koteka.

"For Papuans, the koteka is part of their identity," Johanes Supriyono, a University of Indonesia anthropologist who lives in Paniai, told Historia. Today, Johanes continued, the koteka is a symbol of resistance to non-Papuan cultural forces.

According to Ibiroma, young Papuans from koteka-using areas consider that the outsider's image of the koteka is wrong. Koteka is often seen as a representation of ignorance, backwardness, and uncultured society. "To eliminate that image, as well as to restore the sense of confidence and identity that was about to be 'eliminated', the koteka is being used again," he said.