Koteka is a Malay word for a type of gourd plant used by the highlanders of New Guinea as the cloth for men. Sociolinguistically, particularly in West Papua it is now used to refer to the tribes in the highlands of West Papua, mainly seven tribes (Lani, Mee, Amungme, Moni, Damal, Yali and Nduga).
Today, the term 'Koteka' has three meanings among the Papuans:
- It refers to the traditional men-clothing of the the 'Koteka Tribes';
- It refers to the Tribes wearing the gourd as the clothing of men in the highlands of New Guinea;
- It also means a social-class among Papuans, and is now spreading across Indonesia.
Koteka is commonly used in referring to the aforementioned seven tribes in the highlands of West Papua. All highlanders of West Papua and also New Guinean Highlanders are generally referred to as 'Koteka People' and their tribes are "Koteka Tribes".
In Indonesia, this term is used as a term to look down, an indication of backwardness of the Papuans in the highlands.