Traveled down the Sepik river from Pagwi, one of two points the Sepik river can be reached by land. My destination was not known to me, I just found a canoe and asked if I could go with them.
The canoe was heading to the village of Yentchan or Yentchen, depending on who you ask, it is spelled differently.
After arriving at the only guest house in the village. A classic raised house to protect from the annual flooding during the wet season. I learned that 5 days later there would be the annual initiation. Where the young men get initiated and will be allowed into the "haus tambaran". The haus tambaran is where the decisions of the village is taken, but also a sociable place for the initiated. The house is usually decorated with wood carvings.
The initiation ceremony started in the afternoon the day before the main part. A group of mainly recently initiated men and a few more experienced men will start dancing through the village before sunset, this will continue all night until after sunrise. During this they will only have short breaks, so they were dancing from 5 pm until 7 am!
After this all the initiated men will gather in the house and the men who are going to be initiated will be "fighting" their way into the house.
What happened in there I have been asked to keep secret. But I can say that just when the young men were about about to get the crocodile skin (like in seconds away) we were hit by a relative big earthquake at 6,5 at the Richter scale. The only house that collapsed in the village was the chief of the villages house. After that it started pouring down.
It really seemed like there was something wrong in balance of nature. And there I was, in the middle of it. Only one without having been initiated. That feeling... The ceremony finally went on after the weather cleared up. And the young men now have to live in the haus tambaran for 3 weeks, before they will come out as intiated men with crocodile skin.
Big thanks to Yentchan village for welcoming me into their culture and traditions. It was a great experience! I hope to come back!
*****bold**
I can imagine how painful it is, to be carved that way. But no one can question tradition.
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