Into the Crocodile Nest: Journey Inside New Guinea (Paladin Books)

by Benedict Allen (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  1995

  $3.26

  Benedict Allen set off for New Guinea with a twofold aim: to contact the remote peoples of the island, and from them to learn for himself how to live in harmony with nature. His quest led him through one of the strangest series of adventures recorded by any modern traveller. A witchdoctor's prediction led Benedict to seek a community who would allow him to take part in the traditional initiation rites by which the tribes boys enter manhood. At Kandengai his request was granted: Benedict was accepted into a Sepik tribe and became one of the few white men ever permitted to learn the age-old secrets of the spirit house - the crocodile nest .

• Used

  Paperback
  2002

  $3.26

  Benedict Allen travelled through Papua New Guinea in search of a tribe that would let him participate in an initiation ceremony into manhood. He was finally admitted to the ceremonies of the Sepik tribe, whose totemic god is the crocodile. With fifteen other young males, Allen was secluded from the village in a large nest-like enclosure. Crocodile marks were carved onto their bodies with sharpened bamboo. Grey mud was applied to stop the blood-flow from their wounds, and they were beaten every day for six weeks. This book is the story of Allen's initiation experiences - a tale of love, community through shared pain and of sudden death.

• Used

  Hardcover
  1987

  $3.26