along the sea pic River in Papua New
Guinea a group of initiates is about to
enter the final stage of a long and
arduous ritual for six weeks they’ve
been locked away in the hut known as the
spirit house they range in age from 11
years old to more than 30 there is no
set age for the right but no one can
have full status as a man until he’s
done it and the hardest part is still to
come the initiate will be scarred with
the mark of the crocodile the meaning of
the crocodile is ancestral breath Sumida
black book these cuts tell everyone to
recognize none local has initiated mmm
if these young sea pig men can suffer
through the pain of being scarred
they’ll be strong enough to shoulder the
burdens of adulthood but Dixon one of
the initiates knows such strength may
come at a steep price last cliff law in
the last group of initiates they had one
that I did come up so this makes us
afraid let’s lay make him play for it it
is the morning of the ritual inside the
spirit house the heroine cutting is
about to begin the initiate sunk alone
them down as tribal cutters wield the
razors
[Music]
the men can chew a leaf that has the
effect of a strong drink but they get no
anesthetic to dull the pain the cutters
work diligently making slash after slash
in the initiate tender skin the men’s
bodies are racked with pain through the
long excruciating day Fidelis fights
against the agonizing pain but his uncle
can Dori
knows well but pain is critical to the
initiation knowmaybe must come up mine
in order to become a man he must
experience pain for he’ll remember it
later on and he’ll be able to endure
whatever troubles he faces in the future
finally the cutting is over
physically and emotionally exhausted the
initiate SAR carried inside to recover
they have their hundreds of wounds
treated but the touch of a feather is
all there throbbing aching bodies can
bear the cutting may be finished but
they’re not out of danger yet for
Westerners the biggest concern would be
infection but the SI fix actually
encourage a controlled infection smoke
irritates the raw wounds while clay and
tree oil limit the inflammation in the
days ahead
this process will turn these cuts into
the highly prized marks of the crocodile
for the next two weeks the men go
through the same routine they gingerly
wash their open wounds according fresh
pain in the cold water must mean to us
if I didn’t wash these cuts they
wouldn’t come up the way I want it’s a
process where we have to keep doing this
for a week or so if you didn’t do this
and you left them they become big sores
and we wouldn’t get the effect you want
finally the initiate Tsar paraded
outside presentative survivors and true
men ready to assume their new roles as
leaders their scars are a badge of honor
and a sign they’ve completed their
painful journey to manhood
Guinea a group of initiates is about to
enter the final stage of a long and
arduous ritual for six weeks they’ve
been locked away in the hut known as the
spirit house they range in age from 11
years old to more than 30 there is no
set age for the right but no one can
have full status as a man until he’s
done it and the hardest part is still to
come the initiate will be scarred with
the mark of the crocodile the meaning of
the crocodile is ancestral breath Sumida
black book these cuts tell everyone to
recognize none local has initiated mmm
if these young sea pig men can suffer
through the pain of being scarred
they’ll be strong enough to shoulder the
burdens of adulthood but Dixon one of
the initiates knows such strength may
come at a steep price last cliff law in
the last group of initiates they had one
that I did come up so this makes us
afraid let’s lay make him play for it it
is the morning of the ritual inside the
spirit house the heroine cutting is
about to begin the initiate sunk alone
them down as tribal cutters wield the
razors
[Music]
the men can chew a leaf that has the
effect of a strong drink but they get no
anesthetic to dull the pain the cutters
work diligently making slash after slash
in the initiate tender skin the men’s
bodies are racked with pain through the
long excruciating day Fidelis fights
against the agonizing pain but his uncle
can Dori
knows well but pain is critical to the
initiation knowmaybe must come up mine
in order to become a man he must
experience pain for he’ll remember it
later on and he’ll be able to endure
whatever troubles he faces in the future
finally the cutting is over
physically and emotionally exhausted the
initiate SAR carried inside to recover
they have their hundreds of wounds
treated but the touch of a feather is
all there throbbing aching bodies can
bear the cutting may be finished but
they’re not out of danger yet for
Westerners the biggest concern would be
infection but the SI fix actually
encourage a controlled infection smoke
irritates the raw wounds while clay and
tree oil limit the inflammation in the
days ahead
this process will turn these cuts into
the highly prized marks of the crocodile
for the next two weeks the men go
through the same routine they gingerly
wash their open wounds according fresh
pain in the cold water must mean to us
if I didn’t wash these cuts they
wouldn’t come up the way I want it’s a
process where we have to keep doing this
for a week or so if you didn’t do this
and you left them they become big sores
and we wouldn’t get the effect you want
finally the initiate Tsar paraded
outside presentative survivors and true
men ready to assume their new roles as
leaders their scars are a badge of honor
and a sign they’ve completed their
painful journey to manhood
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