Phallcrypts
Before the arrival of Europeans, the people of tropical New Guinea got by with minimal clothing. Grass skirts, tapa (bark) cloth capes, bark string laplaps and phallocrypts made of gourds did the job. For ceremonies and dance, they dress as their ancestors did and are proud of it.
The men around Wamena wear a long, narrow gourd called a koteka that is held in place by a thin string tied around their waist. The men from Tiom wear a double gourd. They stash paper money and tobacco in the space between the two gourds.
