The Naghol — or N'Gol, or land dive — is a male initiation and yam-harvest ritual performed in the southern villages of Pentecost (most famously Bunlap and Panngi) every Saturday from early April through to early June. The men of the village build a thirty-metre wooden tower against the side of a steep slope, weave platforms at intervals up its height, and tie carefully selected vines — chosen for the right elasticity and length — to the ankles of the divers. Each diver climbs to his chosen platform, claps, makes a short speech, crosses his arms over his chest, and dives head-first.
The dive is timed so that the diver's hair and shoulders just brush the cleared, freshly turned earth at the foot of the tower. If the vines are too long he hits the ground; too short and he is jerked back into the platform. Boys as young as seven dive from the lower levels; the most senior men dive from the top. The ceremony is open to visitors during the official season (entry fees apply, and you must come with an authorised guide), and it is unlike any other event you will see in your travelling life.