"The first time you do it you feel a bit nervous, but after two or three times, it becomes normal, like rugby or boxing or any sport." Fidael Beaf could easily be describing bungee jumping. But the 44-year-old Vanuatuan is talking about something far more terrifying than bouncing on the end of a piece of elastic. Every year from April to June, the Vanuatuan island of Pentecost hosts one of the most spectacular and death-defying cultural ceremonies ever conceived. Known as the Nagol, it sees men climb flimsy 100-foot wooden towers and dive headfirst into empty space, with nothing to break their fall but vines tied their ankles.
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For three months of the year, Vanuatu's Pentecost Island hosts dramatic land-diving ceremonies
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Divers climb 100-foot towers, tie vines to their ankles and leap headfirst to the ground
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Concussions, ruptured spleens and broken vertebrae are common
The moment the @placeholder begins, it becomes apparent why people come from all corners of the world to see it.