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/