Vanuatu Land Diver — Naghol Jump Series
179.01 €
A land diver at the Naghol ceremony on Pentecost Island, Vanuatu — fully extended at the peak of his bungee-free dive from a 30-metre wooden tower, the vines attached to his ankles just beginning to tighten.
Description
The Naghol of Pentecost Island in Vanuatu is the original inspiration for modern bungee jumping — a ritual in which young men dive from increasingly tall wooden towers with vines attached to their ankles, the vine length calculated to allow the diver’s shoulders to brush the earth at the dive’s bottom. Unlike bungee jumping, there is no elastic in the system — the vines must be precisely measured by the officiating elder for each diver’s height. This image was made at a Naghol ceremony in April (the annual season when the vines are at optimal flexibility) from an authorised photography position at mid-tower height, looking up at the diver at the moment of maximum extension at the top of his free fall — the vines still slack above his ankles, the ground 30 metres below. Shot at 1/2000 second on a 100-400mm telephoto, the diver’s face and the vine attachment detail are both legible.
