14:50 15 January 2015
Rituals can be found in every human group and society, yet they are remarkably difficult to define. One thing they all have in common is being outside the everyday – they do not make sense in terms of cause and effect. Another is that they serve as a badge of belonging and a kind of social glue to unite the people that perform them. This helps explain some strange characteristics associated with the most powerful rituals. Kate Douglas
Read more: "Rite reasons: Why your brain loves pointless rituals"
Image 1 of 6
On Pentecost Island, Vanuatu, in the South Pacific, men perform a terrifying ritual akin to bungee jumping. "Land diving" entails jumping head-first from a platform up to 30 metres tall, with just two tree vines wrapped around their ankles and no safety net.
Such highly rousing rituals are known as rites of terror and are extremely effective at binding groups together. One reason is that people tend to be more committed to a group, and tolerate its shortcomings, when they have paid a high price for entry. Another is that rites of terror are highly memorable, creating vivid and shocking that remain with participants for a lifetime.
Such rituals are usually infrequent, often once in a lifetime, but land diving was originally performed annually and now occurs weekly from April to June as a tourist spectacle. It remains a rite of passage to manhood for the boys of Pentecost Island.
(Image: Tim Clayton/Corbis)
