Vanuau Tribe Rite Of Passage

The rite of passage is an important transition in a person’s life and the stages of their life/changing role. The rite of passage for the Vanuatu tribe is land diving. Land diving is a way of life for this tribe. Vanuatu’s land diving is an extreme bungee jump. For boys, land diving is a huge leap into manhood (Hagman). “According to legend, the land dive originated when a frightened wife, attempting to escape from husband, climbed a tall tree. He sighted and then pursued her, but just before he reached her she called him a coward and dared him to jump after her. She leaped head first. Seeing her land unhurt, he accepted the dare, jumped and crushed his skull. She had secretly tied lianas around her ankles. When the village men found out, they were humiliated, so they built a tree, tied vines to their ankles and leaped
Vanuatu tribes jump from 120 foot towers. Each diver will construct his diving platform and measure vines. This process takes 3 weeks. After the man jumps, four men run to cut the hanging man down by the ankles (Hagman). “If divers are married, they practice abstinence and avoid their family for some nights in mental preparation for the jump,” said Hagman. The divers have no nets to catch themselves. They can’t land on something soft like water. (Lee) “The idea is to jump as high as possible and to land as close to the ground as possible,” said Lee. Besides the jump, other factors are key for the jump. The wood has to be strong so it is freshly cut. The vines that hold it together and act as jump ropes have to be supple and elastic, otherwise they might snap” (Lee). The rite of passage reflects the values and belief system of the Vanuatu culture. The rite of passage does this In conclusion, land diving is very important to the Vanuatu. There is a deep history behind this rite of passage. Although it has morphed and changed over the years, its still a very important