5 Jun 2018

Jayapura students begin wearing traditional Papuan koteka

3:09 pm on 5 June 2018
A man wearing a Papuan koteka

A man wearing a Papuan koteka Photo: AFP

There are reports a number of university students in Jayapura have begun to wear the traditional Papuan koteka or penis gourd to campus.

Media reports said Devio Tekege, a student at Cenderawasih University in Indonesia's Papua region, launched the movement last week.

He was reported by the Jakarta Post as saying the unfamiliar atmosphere on campus had prompted him to wear the koteka.

He said he'd become more confident as he wore it and had been able to relax and follow the classes.

The paper reported his friends started doing the same thing as it made them more confident as Papuans

One student at the Jayapura Science and Technology University asked a teacher who reprimanded his choice of attire whether the traditional attire was so different from people who wear Indonesian batik.