Falling Heroes

pacific yours to keep

pacific issue 1

Summer 09/10

| summer 09/10

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vanuatu’s legendary

land divers

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discovery

falling heroes Every year, Pentecost Island’s land-divers plunge head first from massive towers – and while bungee jumpers have an elastic cord to brace their fall, these men must rely on a carefully selected vine.

Words Roderick Eime

T

he origin of this dangerous ritual, known as N’Gol, is clouded in tantalising mystery. One of the more romantic tales tells the story of the abusive husband Tamale who, in pursuit of his recalcitrant wife, followed her up a tall tree as she fled from him. She, whose name seems to have been mislaid in the passage of time, refused to come down knowing that another beating was in store. Driven by pride and rage, Tamale lunged at his wife as she jumped to get away from him. Tamale didn’t know she had tied vines to her legs and so while she survived, he plunged to his death.

Some liberal doses of artistic licence may have embellished this story, but it remains as intriguing as ever. Apparently the village men began to re-enact the nameless wife’s heroic plunge to prepare themselves for a similar challenge from their own wives.

A slight variation says she repeated her stunt with other women, presumably to mock the incompetent men, but was forbidden from diving, as were all other women.

What is clear today is that the deathdefying feat is the sole domain of the

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Left: The ‘rite of plummet’ is performed at the start of the yam harvest.

Right: Boys as young as seven jump from a lower level of the tower.

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the night before their jump and then attach to their legs vines that have been carefully selected for their length and elasticity. The vine selection process is critical and is left entirely in the hands of a trusted village elder. Beside the vines, there are no safety measures whatsoever.

Atop the platform, vines attached, the almost-naked jumper makes a short speech before throwing himself off the platform.

The assembled crowd listens intently knowing these words may be his last. All the while, the village men sing, chant and stomp to create a trance-like atmosphere.

Then he jumps.

Like a ragdoll, his body flies toward the ground and at the last minute the vines tighten and arrest his otherwise fatal fall.

A properly executed jump results in the man’s head and shoulders gently caressing the tilled soil beneath the tower. Such a landing is considered lucky (no kidding) and is a good omen for the yam harvest.

He staggers to his feet, helped and congratulated by attendants at the base.

A new hero is born.

“If the two vines break, it means you break your neck or your backbones or maybe your legs,” said village leader Luke Fargo in an interview with US network, ABC. But he said they have to do it, despite the dangers. “It’s our traditional thing, so we must do it from year to year.”

the vine selection is critical and left entirely to a trusted village elder.

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Above: Pentecost Island men prepare for the jump for weeks beforehand.

Right: Villagers listen to the jumper’s speech - it might be his last..

Opposite: Towers are built up to five weeks before the N’Gol ceremony takes place.

men. It is equally believed to usher in a bountiful yam harvest because it ensures the jumper is never accused of cowardice.

Boys as young as seven may jump from a much lower level, and as they get older they progress up platforms.

The ‘rite of plummet’ is performed annually in the southern region of the island of Pentecost around April, May and June as the yam harvest begins.

Enormous, 30-metre towers are built immediately before the event and take up to five weeks to construct. To ward off evil spirits, the men sleep on the ground

If you think this sounds like fun, think again. Foreigners are expressly forbidden to participate in the N’Gol, presumably because of the inherent danger, but also to preserve the allure for the islanders whose sacred rite this is.

“They tried to ask us to do it, but we don’t allow them, because if they miss, maybe they get injured and sometimes they die,” said Fargo.

And if you don’t believe it’s dangerous, just ask our Queen. During the 1974 royal visit the islanders were keen to put on a show. Only problem, it was the wrong season and the vines were dry. Not wishing to disappoint royalty, they dived anyway, with vines snapping more often than not.

The injury toll mounted and one diver later died. This, apparently, is the only such fatality in recent memory.

Westerners were first introduced en masse to this hair-raising spectacle via the camera of celebrated documentary filmmaker, Sir David Attenborough. In the 1950s, his BBC crew was bringing the strange and mysterious animals and people of the world into the living rooms of the English-speaking world.

The Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club claims to have performed the first ‘bungee jump’ modelled on this ancient spectacle and it wasn’t long before it became commercial, thanks to the ebullient Kiwi entrepreneur, AJ Hackett. His headlinegrabbing stunt on the Eiffel Tower in 1987 ensured the new extreme sport’s success and by 1988 he was operating in Queenstown, New Zealand. Even James Bond has done a bit of bungee-jumping (GoldenEye 1995).

Only in recent years has the event been regularly witnessed by visiting western travellers and P&O Cruises is fortunate to be able to offer this as one of its most exciting shore excursions.

schedules P&O Cruises times its schedules to witness this spectacle in April, May and June. For more information, visit www.pocruises.com.au or call your travel agent.