Next: about 15 Apr to 13 Jun 2027
Nagol, the land dive of Pentecost Island
A tower-jump with vines tied to the ankles, done each spring in Vanuatu in the belief that it helps the yam crop.
About Nagol, the land dive of Pentecost Island
On Pentecost Island in Vanuatu, from about April to June, men and boys of the villages in the south build a wooden tower some 20 to 30 metres high and dive from it with vines tied to their ankles, landing so that only their hair or shoulders brush the loosened soil. The jump, called nagol, is held to bless the yam harvest, and the loose, tilled earth is said to help the crop to grow. A story tells of a woman who fled her husband by tying vines to her ankles and leaping from a tree, and of the husband, who jumped after her without vines and died. Only males dive, the vines are chosen with great care, and injuries and deaths have occurred. The practice is seen as an origin of bungee jumping, which many islanders resent.
Entries tied to it
Also part of it, and being written: Yam (The crop it is held to bless.).
Written by the EveryJaadu desk with AI assistance. Background: "Land diving" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family, and are described as belief and practice. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.