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	August 2004				Spectacular: the final jump of the day on Pentecost Island
		Land-diving in Vanuatu by Caroline Sibson
			The people of Pentecost Island have one of the most amazing customs in the world, Naghol, or land diving; the Melanesian version of bungee jumping. Originally, the men jumped from a tall Banyan tree, with vines tied to their ankles. Just touch your head on the ground, and this will bless the yam harvest for the next year. Villagers build a tall structure of long branches, reaching about 20m - 25m high. It is wider at the base and tapers as it grows taller, bowing out at the front, with platforms all the way up to the top. The small boys begin on the very lowest one and men go higher and higher according to experience and rank: the very top dive is quite spectacular as you can imagine. Vines are tied to their ankles, and the length must be just right - too long and you smash your skull, too short and you smash against the tower. The jumps are done in April and May, when the vines have the right amount of stretch. Magic charm Queen Elizabeth once visited Vanuatu and saw land diving. But the man crashed at her feet - and died! The official explanation is that the vines did not have the right amount of springiness and the men miscalculated the length. Pentecost people will tell you that the man died because he put a magic charm in his belt! Erick, my year 12 student from Pentecost told me this, quite sincerely. He has a good science education and is a devout Christian, with a brother in Bible college, yet he still believes in magic - syncretism is a huge challenge to Christians here. Rigmarole The last man was a real showman. He arched his back, arms wide, and looked at the sky, then he put his hands in a praying position, made an inaudible speech, then went through the whole rigmarole again until we all had cricks in our necks from watching. Eventually, he did the most spectacular jump, a perfect arc and a superb landing, so it was worth the wait. When he dived, his head just brushed the ground, before he was pulled upwards and backwards by the vine and landed on his feet. It was all over! Amazing! Caroline Sibson is working as a volunteer in a Christian school in Vanuatu and may be contacted by email.