The Sambia Tribe of Papua New Guinea: Inhuman Practices or Sacred Cultural Rituals?
These are modern times but archaic and barbaric behavior still lingers throughout the world within ancient tribal civilizations. Some argue if it is our right to have an opinion on a tribal tradition. I’d like to know what you think.
Geographically located north of Australia and a part of a series of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Papua New Guinea shares an island with Indonesia on it’s western half. The mountainous terrain is home to over 300 different tribes, including The Sambia Tribe.
From what we have gathered by researching this tribe, their purpose is to launch young boys into so-called manhood and establish their masculine identities by undergoing a series of masculinization rituals over the course of adolescent years. Once they have run the course of the tribe and served their time they are ready to marry and begin a family of their own. These rituals start as young as 6–10 years old and last roughly 10–15 years to complete.
Now, what exactly happens in these rituals?
The commencement of the rituals sadly begin with taking the child away from its mother, this is because of a belief within the tribe that women are dangerous and will inhibit you from fulfilling your journey of becoming a man. All women are shunned from the boy’s life during this period. The rituals and beliefs are centered around jurungdu, a supernatural property that they believe gives the boys the strength to grow into warrior-like men, and develop traits needed to be a strong man such as bravery and courage. The tribe preaches that the substance jurundga is concentrated in semen.
The children and all members of the tribe are to receive the semen through sexual acts from the elder members of the tribe. When the young boys become older they will have to inflict these same rituals on the younger members that come after them. There are six phases the boys go through during their 10–15 year membership in this tribe. Each phase consists of sexual performances to receive jurungdu and bodily mutilation. What these young boys are forced to endure would be unprecedented in most places in the world today, which makes it all the more difficult to comprehend that this extreme act of tribalism is happening in 2021.
To learn more about each phase, visit my reference.
The severity of these rituals are so brutal that not all the boys survive. The boys/men who survive to the sixth and final phase will now need to find a woman to bear a child with. Then, after the birth of their child, the men must separate himself from his family until his child is no longer bonded to the mother. He must commit to secrecy for life to not share what took place within the tribe. The men who make it through have achieved the highest level of masculinity one can fulfill according to their tribe members. I, myself have two questions — how much longer will these violent rituals continue on? And what can be done for the boys of the Sambia tribe?
To the boys who never made it to the end, may they rest in peace.
“The Sambia Tribe (of Papua New Guinea) | IPCE.” The Sambia Tribe (of Papua New Guinea), www.ipce.info/library/web-article/sambia-tribe-papua-new-guinea. Accessed 19 Aug. 2020.
