Vanuatu Death Bungee Jumping Adult Ceremony

On the southern Pacific Ocean, there is a country composed of more than 40 islands called Vanuatu. And one of the residents, Pentcote Island, who lives on Pentcote Island, holds a "death jump" every April and May. They call themselves "N 'GOL" to test whether the young men are brave, and this is also a form of men's coming of age ritual. As this ritual became famous, people called this place the "hometown of bungee jumping."

Before the ceremony, the young men preparing to participate in the ceremony had to spend 5 weeks building a "rattan winding tower" with branches and trunks that was about 30 meters high. After the tower was completed, they began to go to the nearby dense forest. Go find suitable rattan. The rattan found must meet two conditions: first, the rattan must be strong enough to ensure that it will not break during the competition; second, the length of the rattan must be appropriate to ensure that the competitor's head will not touch the ground when falling to the lowest point.

Young men who participate in the "death jump" risk death because there are no other safety measures except for the rattan on the ankles; but few of the competitors fall to their deaths. When the Queen of England visited in 1974, a jumper fell to his death. Since then, no similar accident has occurred in the "death jump".

Speaking of the origin of the "death jump" held by Vanuatu people, there is another story!

It is said that 1500 years ago, a woman hid on the top of a big tree to avoid her extremely violent husband. But her husband still found her and planned to go up the tree to catch her. Seeing this situation, she cleverly tied a rattan to her ankle. When her husband was about to climb to the top of the tree, she jumped down from the tree without hesitation. At this time, before her husband had time to figure out what was going on, he immediately jumped down from the tree. As a result, the brave woman was safe and sound, but her violent husband died and could no longer torture her. Since then, residents of Puntecote Island in Vanuatu have begun to hold such extreme near-death events and use them as a rite of passage for men.