They embrace the possibility of death during the initiation it’ll be like taking one for the team. After all, to dive means to sacrifice your life for the tribe. While it’s not required to dive, those who do are revered in the community and seen as true warriors. It’s also thought to strengthen participants spiritually, as they take the leap of faith. The ritual is done to ensure the yam harvest that year will be successful the higher they dive, the better the harvest will be. The rickety structure is then used as the world’s most extreme form of bungee jumping, with only two vines and faith supporting a diver.
Rocks and wood are removed from the ground and the soil is tilled before the tower is built. In the South Pacific Ocean, on Pentecost Island, tribe members construct a tower 60 to 90 feet (20 to 30 meters) high made from the trees surrounding a clearing.
