Just outside the jungle, a crowd gathers around a wooden tower built on a steep hill. A young man climbs up the rickety structure to a platform and ties vines around his ankles and legs. Then he leaps off the tower headfirst. Just before he crashes to the ground, the vines go taut, and his shoulders brush the earth. The crowd cheers as his friends run up to untie his feet, and another man begins climbing the tower.

  This is a naghol ritual, also called land diving, an ancient tradition of the tribes on Pentecost Island. The mountainous island is part of Vanuatu, an island nation in the South Pacific. Traditionally, if a diver touched the ground with his shoulders, this was believed to ensure a good yam harvest.

  Now, the ritual has become a rite of passage. When a boy jumps for the first time, his mother throws away an item from his childhood, showing he has entered adulthood. Women and young children are not allowed to dive, but almost any male can participate.