Pentecost
Pentecost
is a lush, mountainous island which
stretches North to South over some 60 km. The chain of
mountains, dominated by Mount Vulmat (947 m) marks the
dividing line between the humid, rainy eastern coast and the
more temperate western coast.
The coastal plains, cross-cut by small torrents, are
generally very green and ideally suited for plantations and
livestock.
It was discovered on 22nd May 1768 by Bougainville, who
named it after that same day, being "Pentecost". It was
influenced by various successive missionaries but lost
nothing of its customs. Pentecost is particularly well-known
nowadays for its land-diving which is one of the most
spectacular and impressive rituals in the whole of the
Pacific. It takes place when the yams are ripe for the
picking, in April/May, also the time of the year when the
vines reach their maximum strength. Pentecost men take this
jump in memory of Tamalie, victim of his wife's cunning, but
it is also a ceremony to ensure a good crop of yams in the
following year. According to custom, the men fertilise the
earth upon touching it with their shoulders.
The very first jump was initiated by Tamalie's wife who
refused to consumate the marriage and ran away, with her
husband in hot pursuit. Endeavouring to escape from him, she
climbed to the top of a banyan tree, then threw herself into
the void when her husband tried to grab her.
Tamalie followed her down, but killed himself on landing,
whereas she got up unscathed, having tied herself to vines
by her feet. Ever since then, the custom has been a man's
prerogative. Every year, the men from Bunlap build a huge
tower made of vines and timber around a tall tree with its
branches lopped off.
These towers can reach up to 35 m. Each man is responsible
for his own vines and launching pad. Before he jumps, the
ground below is cleared and softened.
It is not unusual to see children jumping from the lower
platforms. As a rule they have been circumcised and they
enter the adult male world through this ceremony.
Pentecost is also known for its traditional dancing. The
circumcision ceremony is followed by the all-male dance of “Taltabwan”.
The women's dance of the “Sowahavin” is more particularly
practised in Central Pentecost. The women wear red mats for
skirts. Small mats are also used by the men for graduation
ceremonies. To be promoted to a higher rank, a number of
pigs must be offered, which will be killed that same day,
together with yams, taros and mats. These mats are woven by
the women from the fibre of the pandanus leaf and painted
with a red dye by stamping with a banana tree trunk which
has been previously sculpted.
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