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#1
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06-25-2014, 07:22 AM
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 My Rank: CORPORAL Poster Rank:1677 Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 321 Mentioned: 2 Post(s) Quoted: 177 Post(s)
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Sepik Skin Mutilation
In Papua New Guinea, there are some communities living around the Sepik river who hold a bloody and painful rite of passage. The communities’ teenage boys (though they are referred to as wives or little girls during the rite) are gathered together, stripped naked, and have insults shouted at them. Then, they have to lay down on their fronts while their elders make crocodile skin-like patterns on their backs by making hundreds of small cuts into their skin and flesh. After enduring this process, which leads to significant blood loss, initiates are visibly weakened and often unable to walk or even stand up. The ritual lasts for days, sometimes even weeks, with further humiliation, cutting and even whipping of the boys until they emerge from the process as men in the eyes of the tribe. |
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#4
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06-28-2014, 12:08 AM
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 My Rank: FIRST SERGEANT Poster Rank:434 Comrade Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 2,636 Mentioned: 14 Post(s) Quoted: 1167 Post(s)
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Re: Sepik Skin Mutilation
My father-in-law was a pilot in WWII and was stationed in Paupa New Guinea. He talked about witnessing this ritual and other more gruesome rites of passage. He always said that he had only wished he'd fully understood what he was seeing at the time and what it meant. He tld some great stories about the various native island populations that he encountered during the war. By the way, he called these guys "fuzzy wuzzies" and apparently that was what all the servicemen called them. My father-in-law said that he would go on hunts with these guys as the hunting guides to get fresh meat for the base kitchen. He said many were very well spoken and had these formal British or Austrailian accents because they were taught by either English or Austrailian missionaries. He said they'd show up wearing loin cloths and carrying eith spears or old British bolt action rifles and huge knives. Their hair was worn in a huge type of Afro style and many had actual bones in their noses. My father-in-law said when these guys first showed up it freaked everyone out because everyone thought they were headhunters like in the movies. Then they'd open their mouths and this very formal and well educated voice would come out and that totally floored the men. I guess the British used these guys as security for the Coast Watchers. I loved his stories and I miss him greatly...too bad we're losing that generation so fast these days.
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#5
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06-28-2014, 05:26 PM
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 My Rank: PRIVATE Poster Rank:6174 Female Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 37 Mentioned: 0 Post(s) Quoted: 6 Post(s)
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Re: Sepik Skin Mutilation
That's really interesting, thanks for sharing as it's the only way those details will stay with us  |
