Thursday, April 12, 2012

Land-Diving of Pentecost

Let us continue our adventure in Melanesia as we unveil the Nagol dive experience by the natives

An essential part of the annual yam harvest, the "Land-Diving of Pentecost" is a tightly held and carefully obsereved ritual that is unique to Pentecost island. The ceremony is deeply sacred; any deviation from tradition invites disaster for the diver and ill times for the village.

As a precursor to bungee jumping, men jump off of wooden towers, around 20to 30 meters (66 to 98 ft) high, with two tree vines wrapped around the ankles. Ther harvest is deemed successful only if a diver gets close enough to the ground for his head to touch the earth.

Platforms are set at different heights, with the most experiencend diver jumping from the top. For boys, land diving is also a rite of passage into manhood.

According to the Guinness World of Records, the G-force experienced by those at their lowest point in the dive is the greatest experienced in the non industrialized world by humans.

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