ADVENTURE
CROCODILE skin-cutting ritual is an ancestral male rite of transition practiced by tribes along the mighty Sepik River in East Sepik.
The ritual that takes place inside the sacred Sepik haus tambaran (spirit house) has young boys in their late teens and early 20s to go into the house for a four to five-month initiation period.
The finale of series of events is the actual cutting of young men’s skin in the spirit house, where tribal elders use razors to slice hundreds of geometric patterns onto their chests, backs, and shoulders of match the exact scales on crocodile skin.
The wounds inflicted are carefully managed by expert elders who rub them with clay, tree oil and smoke. This helps control infection to ensure the scars heal into raised permanent welts.
This transitions young boys into manhood. It involves enduring excruciating pain which represents a spiritual rebirth and a test to be disciplined and courageous to protect their tribe from enemies.
The ritual became a major tourist attraction for villages such as Kanigara in the Black Water area in Angoram district.
Jeffery Mann, a local tour guide and village court magistrate from Angoram said such sacred rituals all over the world have become major tourism earners for local communities.
He said PNG Tourism Promotion Authority (TPA) for not doing enough to promote and expose rare rituals, cultural sites and practices like the Sepik crocodile skin cutting to the outside world.
He said the fast changing digital transformation has distanced remote sites from access and TPA needed to reset its focus and direction.
Mann, who is team leader of Kanigara village Sepik haus tambaran that performs crocodile skin pattern skin cutting, said this to appreciate Goroka-based Caspar Guides Services for bringing 15 European tourists to Kanigara village last month.
Two of the tourists Miguel Angel and Gonzalez Buch bravely joined other young men who went into the Sepik haus yambaran initiation period to become adult men.
They also had their skin cuts depicting crocodile scales. The cuts made the Europeans feel they really belonged to the Sepik River and Black Water.
Angel and Buch reportedly admitted feeling that they really wanted to remain in the Sepik to feel the spirit working in them.
Mann thanked the tourists and Caspar Guide Services for participating in the sacred initiation ritual.
He appreciated Caspar Guides director Caspar Dama for bringing the tourists right into Kanigara village and they spent money to pay for their services.
“You have provided an opportunity for us to earn some income. Thank you Caspar Guides Services for giving us this opportunity to support unfortunate ones in the community,” he said.
Mann urged Caspar Guides Services to consider engaging other villages along the Sepik River, giving them chances to earn an income because they provided similar tourism facilities.
“In Angoram district we have six villages practising skin cutting. They are Kanigara, Gavamas, Karabit, Tambraman, Tumgibit and Songreman,” he said.
Dama said despite the financial hardships his operation remained committed to deliver tourism products to overseas tourists and create opportunities for people in remote areas.
He thanked Mann and Kanigara villagers for showcasing their unique traditional practice.
Dama assured the villagers that he would continue to solicit tourists to visit Angoram and provide opportunities for other villagers to also showcase their traditional rituals and festivals.
Caspar guides can be reached on 72866127/ 81903535.
