Initiation Story

"Uh, betray us, and I will fong you, until your insides are out, your outsides are in, your entrails will become your extrails I will w-rip... all the p... ung. Pain, lots of pain." ~ A Knights Tale

I wanted to start this blog out with something funny because honestly the rest of my initiation story is pretty well, gory. The movie a Knights Tale is one of my favorite comedy and Wat (the character speaking in the quote above and on the right of the image) chooses to threaten Chaucer (left and yes he is naked) with the very thing many tribes and cultures have used to make boys in to men: Pain.

The story I will be telling in class tomorrow is just one of those initiation stories of pain. It is how the boys of the Kaningara Tribe of Papua New Guinea become men. The process begins with a two month long seclusion from the women and hildren of the tribe. The boys spend this time in the spirit house learning the secrets, song cycles, genealogies, and other spiritual knowledge from the older men of the tribe. It is ecentially their education in beliefs and myths of the tribe. During this time the initiates are dominated by the men in the tribe through taunting and other rituals. They are forced to bathe in the waters of the Blackwater River at dawn every morning and observe taboos such as a strict diet and not being allowed to sit on a stool. The diet consists of mainly fish, sago, and certain vegetables which, in combination, cause the initiate to gain an extra layer of fat that is useful in the later stages of the ritual. These taboos and trials are designed to make the initiate feel the helplessness of childhood and powerless in comparison with the men of the tribe. 
The final and most gruesome part of this ritual is skin cutting. The day before the cutting begins is filled with constant dancing and singing. The boys must hold a stick of ginger in their mouthes without loosing it for the entire time or else be hit with a switch. After a night without sleep, at around 5 am, the young men are taken one final time to the cold waters of the Blackwater river to test against hypothermia and numb their skin. After this they are led back to the spirit house and told to sit in a circle while the elders drop pieces of sago on the young men for a last meal. Individually they are helped up and led to beds of banana leaves. Finally the elders sit behind them and begin cutting the pattern of a crocodile in to the boy's back and chest. After the cutting is completed the men are given oil from a tree to heal their cuts and river mud is applied to promote infection so that the scars become large and raised like the scaled skin of a crocodile.  



I also found this video that describes the ritual. This is the link to the original page:
 http://listverse.com/2010/07/17/10-incredibly-painful-rites-of-initiation/



The story and description of this ritual can be found at:
 http://www.larskrutak.com/articles/Papua/

Zulu Creation Myth

A direct link to the pfd of my creation (Zulu) myth is here:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&sqi=2&ved=0CEAQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fhq.scisdragons.net%2Fxkruger%2Ffiles%2F2011%2F08%2FOriginStoryZulu.pdf&ei=fWkQUYzbEqvNigKlkoG4Bw&usg=AFQjCNEUD7KaFTRxGjsCE6ITI98POPjdCw&sig2=OlUsIQNEwl8wB3ryGLEzwQ&bvm=bv.41934586,d.cGE

For anyone who doesn't want to read it in its entirety I will sum it up for you.

In the beginning there was a swamp whose name was Uhlanga. One day the Sky God, who is called the Great One came down from the heavens and asked the swamp to marry him. She agreed and from their union the whole world was created.
Shortly after their union the Great One noticed two different colored vines growing out of the swamp. He picked the vines, looked at them again and declared "from these vines I will make humans!" So the Great One made two humans, one male and one female, and they became the ansestors of all of mankind.
The Great One decided to give gifts to his new humans so he said "My creations need light!" and he threw the sun, moon, and stars in to the sky. Then he said "Let there be animals in the forest and fish in the see. Let there be insects in the grasses and birds in the air." And as he spoke all of these things came in to being. Finally he said "Let there be water for my creations to drink and fire so they can cook their food." And these things came in to existence as well.
The Great One decided to give the humans one more gift so he called to the Chameleon and told him to climb down the vines that connect to Earth and give the humans this message: "All of my creations will never die."
So the Chameleon began to climb down to Earth and as he did he thought "I had better go slow and be careful not to fall and it probably won't matter if I stop and eat a few of these tasty leaves."
Meanwhile the Great One was reconsidering the final gift he gave the humans. Changing his mind he called to Lizard. He said "Lizard, go down to Earth and tell my creations my commandment: All of my creations will eventually die. But you must hurry, once my word is spoken to the people it will become the truth."
"I will hurry Great One!" said the Lizard and then he rushed down to Earth.
When he Lizard arrived on Earth he gathered all of the Great One's creations and spoke "I have a message from the Great One: All of my creations will eventually die." The people heard the message and continuted on with their day.
Some time later the Chameleon finally made his way down to Earth. He gathered all of the Great One's creations and told them, "I have a message from the Great One: All of my creations will never die." The people looked around confused. Finally one man spoke up, "But the Lizard just told us that the Great One decreed that we will all eventually die."
The Chameleon sighed and hung his head. "I have done a horrible thing. Because of my tardiness all creatures will die."
This is why no one lives forever.