Chiefs on Vanuatu's Pentecost Island have taken action over the right to practice the island's unique activity of nagol or land diving.
The practice involves men jumping from high towers with vines tied to their feet to encourage a good yam harvest and prove their manhood
Boys on Pentecost practice jumping in preparation for the age old ritual called the Nagol or Land Diving. Photo: AFP
On Saturday one hundred and fifty Wawan people from Panas in the south marched to Lonorore in the central part of the island and cut down a nagol tower in front of tourists, preventing a jump from taking place.
They were armed with knives and axes.
The chairman of the Malbangbang Council of Chiefs Peter Watas says he sent them in because he was protecting the authority of the chiefs of Malbangbang and preserving custom.
"Lonorore finished. The resolution of my Malbangbang chiefs' council approved that St Joseph's is the right place to build the jump and the tourists can come and look at it."
Peter Watas says there will be a nagol ceremony at St Joseph's in the south this Saturday.
