Vanuatu: Land Diving, Kastom and the Country That Invented Bungee Jumping
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Land diving — naghol — on Pentecost Island is the practice from which bungee jumping ultimately derives. Every April and May, men on the island of Pentecost climb wooden towers up to 30 metres high and dive headfirst toward the ground, with vines tied to their ankles that arrest the fall just before impact — ideally allowing the diver's shoulders to graze the ground, which is believed to fertilise the yam harvest. The towers are rebuilt each year. The vine lengths are calculated by eye. The men are barefoot. The practice has been observed by outsiders since Queen Elizabeth II watched it during a 1974 royal visit.
Kastom — the ni-Vanuatu term for traditional culture — is a living, actively maintained system of beliefs, practices, and governance that exists in parallel with the modern state across Vanuatu's 80 islands. The country has 138 distinct languages — the highest language density per capita of any country on earth — with each island or group of islands maintaining its own cultural traditions. The kastom chief system of governance handles community disputes and resource management in ways that the formal court system acknowledges as legitimate.
Vanuatu's volcanic landscape — 9 of its islands have active volcanoes — includes Ambrym, which contains two active lava lakes visible from the crater rim. The hike to the rim is strenuous and involves gas masks in some conditions. The sight of lava churning 300 metres below, lit orange against the night sky, is among the most extreme natural experiences accessible to travellers anywhere in the world.
