The Penis Gourd of New Guinea∗

Gourds from three localities in New Guinea are more similar to those of America and Africa (Lagenaria siceraria subsp. siceraria) than to gourds of Asia and the Pacific region (Lagenaria siceraria subsp. asiatica). Such gourds could have arrived in New Guinea by ocean currents from America or Africa, or they could have been introduced by man. Gourds are used as penis sheaths in New Guinea, South America, and Africa. If contacts between New Guinea and South America and Africa occurred in the pre-Columbian period, the gourds, along with their use as penis sheaths, may have been introduced from America or Africa to New Guinea, but no decision can be reached as to how and when these gourds arrived in New Guinea and their use as a phallocrypt was acquired.