"The Naghol is Pentecost's culture in its most daring form—men defying death in an unusual and spectacular way."
May 27, 2012 4:58 PM   Subscribe

Naghol (or land diving) is a ritual performed by the men of the villages of Loltafala on Pentecost Island in Vanuatu. The ritual entails jumping off 25 to 30-meters high tower with vines tied to the feet, skimming the soil with the crown of the head. It is dangerous but deaths are rare, though a man died in front of Queen Elizabeth II in 1974 when performing a land dive in her honor. You can watch a short National Geographic documentary on the Naghol here.
posted by Kattullus (10 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
Oops! "It is dangerous" was supposed to be a link to this article, which details, among other things, how the Naghol inspired bungee jumping.
posted by Kattullus at 5:00 PM on May 27, 2012


Karl Pilkington did this. Sort of.
posted by scalefree at 5:06 PM on May 27, 2012 [3 favorites]


though a man died in front of Queen Elizabeth II in 1974 when performing a land dive in her honor

No wonder her eyes are vacant, now...
posted by Jimbob at 5:08 PM on May 27, 2012


The construction of the tower is really impressive. The use of vines as guy wires, and a structure that isn't rigid so that it absorbs the energy in a more distributed manner is pretty fascinating. Definitely a leap of faith to know that you'll hit the ground.
Prince Geoffrey: My you chivalric fool... as if the way one fell down mattered.
Prince Richard: When the fall is all there is, it matters.
posted by disillusioned at 5:18 PM on May 27, 2012 [1 favorite]


No wonder her eyes are vacant, now...

You know Brenda was born without a soul. I bet she didn't even flinch when your man hit the deck.
posted by jack_mo at 5:21 PM on May 27, 2012 [1 favorite]


It's amazing that this is still practiced. I was fascinated with pics in National Geographic showing the ritual back in the 70's.

Modern life doesn't change our desire for symbolic meaning. Humans are strange creatures when rituals are involved.
posted by mightshould at 6:08 PM on May 27, 2012


Thanks for the links--I'm moving to Vanuatu in a month and am looking forward to attending next year's event.
posted by orrnyereg at 6:44 PM on May 27, 2012 [2 favorites]


Also, their villages have "Lol" in the name. That did not escape my attention.
posted by Afroblanco at 11:50 PM on May 27, 2012 [1 favorite]


a man died in front of Queen Elizabeth II

would pay money to see
posted by obiwanwasabi at 1:33 AM on May 28, 2012


You know Brenda was born without a soul. I bet she didn't even flinch when your man hit the deck.

That's surprisingly harsh. By most accounts she's a somewhat paternalistic leftie behind closed doors who takes her responsibilities to the population extremely seriously.
posted by jaduncan at 2:39 AM on May 28, 2012


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