Kultura na předkožce: novoguinejské variace na fíkový list

• Authors: Martin Soukup

Title variants

EN

Culture on Foreskin: New Guinea variations on fig leave

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The study deals with the analysis of penis sheaths the New Guinea men used to wear. The artefact was understood to be just a part of attire in some cultures, in other ones it was connected with initiations or worn solely on special occasions. The text presents the voluminous spectrum of materials the penis sheaths used to be made from, as well as the variety of occasions on which it used to be worn. Following cultural contacts and especially by the influence of missionaries and colonial administrations, the New Guinea men gradually stopped wearing the penis sheaths. The penis sheaths became a symbol of “primitiveness” based on which the colonial administrations and governments built their development and administrative projects. Nowadays, especially tourists desire to see the primitive New Guinea represented by a picture of the New Guinea man wearing the penis sheath. This has become a souvenir which can be bought in holiday resorts, at the airports or local markets. At present, penis sheaths are worn rather exceptionally in Papua-New Guinea, usually on festive occasions and as a part of cultural shows. In the part of New Guinea that belongs to Indonesia, penis sheaths are worn either in regions much-sought-for by tourists, or as a political protest.

Keywords

EN

Penis sheath; body decoration colonialism; Papua-New Guinea

Discipline

• ETHNOLOGY: ETHNOLOGY

• Publisher: The National Institute of Folk Culture
• Journal: Národopisná revue (Journal of Ethnology)
• Year: 2015
• Volume: 25
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 109 - 118

Contributors

author

Martin Soukup

• Národopisná revue, redakce, Národní ústav lidové kultury se sídlem ve Strážnici, Zámek 672, 696 62 Strážnice, Czech Republic