land diving

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i am officially counting down the days. i held off on this blog so sher could add pix while they were in vila! enjoy...- b

12 may 2009

we're writing from pentecost this time, the island just south of maewo. the months of april and may are peak times for land diving in pentecost, so we came to check it out. the cheapest way to travel between islands is via cargo ship, so we packed and waited for the MV Keidi to come pick us up from the beach just a minute walk from our house. the ships have regular routes but their exact arrival/departure times are approximate at best. we were packed and ready monday morning and actually got on the ship wednesday around noon; depending on the acute ears of our neighbors to alert us when they heard the sound of the ship approaching.

the cargo ship has a small deck area for passengers to sit. there were benches along the sides and storage boxes for ropes and life jackets that also doubled as seats. people spread out mats and sort of sat all about. we were all in very close quarters, about 20 passengers in the size of a small kitchen. so i was grateful for the salty breezes that kept the air circulating, especially when a boy threw up about ten minutes after we got on board. the ship also had a small kitchen/store where they sell sleeves of cream sandwich cookies, twistie cups, and lollipops. another surprising accomodation is we were served meals on the ship as well (for us: a dinner of rice, island cabbage, and tin meat).

after picking us up, the kedie continued south on maewo, picking up sandy and justine (the other maewo volunteers) along the way. the water was rough, but we enjoyed seeing the island from another perspective. at one stop, i had five different waterfalls within my eye sight. we reached the south tip of maewo around 6:00, as the moon was starting to shine brightly. in the open ocean between maewo and pentecost, the water was really choppy. i spent the next hour trying to focus on the stillness of darkening land masses while standing, trying not to "lose my cookies" as one of the other volunteers did. we all dozed in and out and in the surprisingly cold breezes of the bucking ship that evening. luckily, around midnight, sandy decided to check how much longer it would be to our destination of the villlage of pangi, on the south end of pentecost. the captain simply told her, "pangi? we're here! you better get off now!" she came and woke us all up from our light sleep so we could pay our fare (about $12 each for 12 hours of transport) and step into a small motor boat to take us to shore.

luckily, cargo ships attract the attention of many here in vanuatu no matter the hour and a guy was on the beach when we came ashore. he knew the volunteer we were planning to stay with (erica) and took us to her house as hospitably as if it were 2:00 in the afternoon. poor erica and her house were invaded in the middle of the night where we each claimed a section of the cement floor for ourselves and fell asleep.

the next day we took advantage of the precious resources in south pentecost: cell phone coverage and a restaurant with beef! four more valunteers flew in, making our gorup a total of 12! we had a pasta dinner for my birthday (earlier that week) and even made garlic bread, a cucumber-onion salad, and had dessert of candy corn and m&ms - thanks to the pooling of our mail care package goods. we spent a few days just watching the villagers prepare for the cruise boat of tourists that would come on sunday for the land diving and hanging out, cooking food, and chatting in english.

it was neat to spend a few days at another volunteer's site. even though we're all serving in the same country, there are differences that can completely change the volunteer's experience from village to village. at erica's site in pangi, the village is used to the cruise ships of tourists coming and therefore used to having money to toss around. this you could see in small details like the size and kinds of goods sold at the store and just the not-as-interested reception that the village had towards us as they are rather accustomed to seeing droves of "white man" tourists in the village for land diving.

sunday morning, we awoke to a metallic grinding sound of the cruise ship pulling into the bay. i was mass producing french toast for 12 (with only four eggs!), but justin ran out with the camera to take a picture of the giant ship.

after breakfast, we sat on the shore as the tourists were shuttled to the village. there were small stands with postcards and coozies set up along the road to the land diving site. the people really know how to milk money from the tourists. my favorite site was a spider that had built it's web on a branch. the branch was relocated to a spot along the road and a cardboard sign below it read, "this is a spider." the tourists went for their cameras every time. now, i do have a picture of a similar spider, but somehow seeing it with the sign made it humorously photogenic yet again, so i took a picture of your stereotypical tourists in a pink floppy hat, swimming suit and shorts who was taking a picture of the spider. classic.

seeing hundreds of tourists after 9 months in vanuatu, was interestingly shocking to me. probably partly because they were in a more remote part of the country and wearing shorts and bathing suits (which for local women is "taboo" big time!), showing more skin than i had seen in a long time. although we volunteers were paying and tagging along with cameras to see the same event, i had a strong urge to differentiate myself from the tourist cloud.

land diving is a strong tradition only practiced on pentecost. it has been said that bungee jumping was inspired by this event. while bungee jumpers may just be seeking a thrill land diving has its roots in the yam harvest. though many villages organize dives for cruise ships now, before the dives were to ensue a good harvest of yam. men construct the diving tower from burrow tree branches and bush rope. platforms of varying heights jut out from the tower for the idvers to jump from. there is a patch of over turned dirt kept moist where the men land. the highgest platform of the jump we saw was probably comparable to jumping off a two story house.

the suspense builds as the event starts off with young boys (about 12ish and up), jumping from the lowest platform and working their way up. even the shortest jump was probably a good 12 feet up. the man (or boy) getting ready to jump climbs the tower jungle gym style to his platform. before th event, men had attachd vines especially measured for the height of the jumper to his own platform. now getting ready to jump, two helpers fasten the frayed ends of the vine to the divers' ankels. in the background, men and women perform a custom dance and sing. the man getting ready to jump works his way to the end of the platform as the custom singing intensifies. the diver may extend his arms out from this sides and flip his palms facing up and facing down with the beat. as he psyches himself up for the jump, some hit themselves in the head for extend clasped hands on top of their head, looking like a prayer. the men also hold the excess vine that is trimmed from their ankles and toss it right before they jump. it is pretty dramatic to watch the frayed bits of vine slowly drift down to the ground. watching that eccentuates just how hight thye are about to jump.

ready to jump, the man falls forward head first to the ground. they actually hit their foreheads to the ground. too, as they reach the end of the vine, their platform breaks, making a rather alarming splitting sound. few seconds pass after their landing before two men come and pull them up, cutting the vines from their ankles with a bush knife. and then the next diver begins his ascent to his platform. only one guy seemed to get hurt during the land diving we saw. he landed more on his back then on his head and seemed to have messed up his shoulder. but more common was a satisfied smile after accomplishing the jump, no doubt in part thanks to an adrenaline rush.

a few interesting little tidbits we picked up by storying with the locals: women are not allowed to help build the tower or even see it before the day of the dive. if the first boy to jump gets scared and backs out, no one will jump that day. instead of holding the excess vine, men used to hold leaves or fabric (but the tourists didn't like the fabric). most men throw up after diving; if they don't on their own, they may find someone to "hold their stomach" to force them to. if a man dies during land diving, it is believed to be because his heart was not right or he was diving for the wrong reasons. (for some pics or videos try google or youtube or check out "tribal life bunlap" on the discovery channel).

as we cleared out after the last jump, we noticed the cruise ship concession stand tents packing up as well. being deprived of refridgeration as volunteers we headed over with empty water bottles to try and score some ice. we ended up lugging a huge trash bag full of ice back to erica's house where we did everything from watching it melt on our skin (and enjoying the burn) to mixing drinks with it. oh ice. it was grand while it lasted.

the next day we hopped on a small motor boat and ventured to the southern most village on pentecost: point cross. here another volunteer, lauren, with yet another unique site for us to explore. the major thing about pentecost that is different from maewo are the hills. maewo has a long ridge down the middle, but pentecost is hilly all over, point cross especially. lauren jokes that it reminds her of dr. seuss's whoville with the houses nestled into the rolling hills. of course, this time there are coconut trees. here her family has been cooking for us and bringing us food and are interested in finding out about us. justin found out the men used to grind kava with a coral stone like they do on maewo, but have ventured away from that custom. tonight, he plans to grind a shell of kava for lauren's host dad to watch and drink. we'll be in point cross until the mv keidi makes it way back in a reverse route to take us back to maewo (which means maybe tonight, or tomorrow, or the next day...)

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Photos

Our Ship
The trusty rusty MV Keidi

Their Ship
The bigfala cruise ship

Feeling Touristy
Sandy and I waiting for the dives to start.

Ready to Jump
One of the younger divers preparing to jump.

Dancers
Some of the women who were dancing behind the tower.

Vine Ends
One of the older men higher up on the tower, waving the ends of his vines before he jumps.

"Finis Nao"
This diver is finished, getting the vines cut off his ankles. Hanging to the side are some vines ready to be used.