( Cult-House where youths reside)

The making of a man
Initiation is a form of ritual or ceremony that takes place in order for a person to be accepted as a part of a certain organization. It comprises a great part of many tribal cultures through out the world. Initiations through out the tribes are different for each, and therefore hold a different weight. In the Sambia tribe of New Guinea, initiation plays a vital role in the making of a man. All boys are forcibly initiated; there is seldom any choice in the participation in this initiatory process. Men undergo a process of initiation for a span of ten years, while women do not partake in any form of initiation, except for marriage. Initiation rest solely in the hands of the Sambia’s men secret society, and the events that comprise this ritual are unknown to outsiders.

Male initiation is a rigidly structured form of inculcating manliness step by step in the Sambia tribe. Initiation for this tribe begins at the age of seven, when boys are removed from their maternal figure and all females, and placed in a special house in which they subsist with other males for the next ten years. This process combines paternal love with very rigid military ways. Their transition from childhood to adulthood is greatly affected by this extreme experience. The purpose of this separation from women is that having any type of contact with females until a certain age might be harmful.

The purpose of the Sambia’s initiation is to have the male be truly masculine. To the Sambia, masculinity is only achieved through the process of separating a boy from his mother, the ceremonial treating of his body, administering homosexual inseminations and the attainment of biological puberty. Regardless of what the boys think or if they are opposed to what they are doing, they are forced to successfully complete the initiation process, by picking the rebel as the first one to perform the ritual, therefore motivating the others.
All Sambia men must be manly because it is required in every aspect of their being; warfare demands it, hunting requires it, and women expect it. Upon successful completion of this initiatory cycle, men are considered truly masculine and worthy.
The initiation process for the Sambia is comprised of six intermittent initiations, each which serve as a lesson for the different focus points of their initiation. From the first through third initiations the rites are communally performed. Boys from the same age groups are put together to perform the initiations, and they will remain in the same group through out. Their primary bonds of identification, friendship and comparison are with men. They are not allowed to have any personal bonds with females, even at a later stage of their initiation in which they are married.

( Youths listening attentively to elders)
The first, second, and third initiations are held in succession. The boys reside together in a secret cult house constructed on a traditional dance ground and made by them during the first-stage initiation. This cult house is very important to them since it is the beginning and the root for the whole initiation cycle. During their stay here and through these stages they hold a homosexual status. The inductee’s endure a lot of pain during these stages. The boys always need to respect their elders and obey their rules, and with this established the men beat and traumatize the youths a way of getting them angry. By making the youths angry, they will learn how to be strong and hateful, so when they later become initiators they will treat the other youths the same way and make them real men.
During the first stage the uninitiated boy’s skin is pierced as a way of discarding any external contamination from women. The boys are required to engage in heavy nose-bleeding, which during the first time it catches all of them by surprise and it turns into a violent assault since it is performed collectively in the forest. They are also forced to consume sugarcane to stimulate vomiting and defecation, as a way of internally cleansing their body. Once the boys are cleared from any contamination, they are required to ingest semen, which is considered vital to ignite masculine growth, and strength. These stages edify boys of what they are allowed to consume and what is harmful for them.

Near the end of the third initiation, the boys are taken to the forest, where they are pointed towards a structure facing a tree. They are told to remove a pubic hair and hand it to one of the men who then, places the hairs into the trunk of a pandanus tree. The boys are told a story about a Jew’s harp and everything it signifies. During this lesson they are forewarned that they are not to be promiscuous during their heterosexual relationships otherwise they will be killed.

(Pandanus Tree that makes part of 3rd initiation)

The fourth, fifth, and six stages are individually centered. A formal marriage ceremony takes place in the hamlet or cult house during the fourth-stage initiation. This ceremony must be a shared ceremony between two or more initiates. At this point the youths are married but still reside in the cult house, where they remain until the sixth-stage initiation.
Heterosexual interaction begins with the marriage ceremony, depending on the stage of the spouse. This marriage is arranged through the spouse’s parents in the form of a formal contract with the husband’s family. Most brides are around twelve to thirteen years of age and most have not yet menstruated. When the girl is married she is a virgin and therefore not yet ready for sexual intercourse. For this matter the couple engages in other sexual activity to relieve the man of his erotic urges. The woman also ingests the semen as a way to strengthen her as well as to bring milk into her breast. Heterosexual activity is hidden from children and must be done in the forest, not at home after the children are asleep. The couple needs to have moderation when engaging in this type of activity. They are to allow a couple of weeks to elapse every time intimacy occurs between man and wife before engaging in that activity again, because too much of her contamination could damage the male.

Through out the initiation process, the youths are informed of the impurities that women bring and how harmful they might be to them. In the next stage, the fifth-stage initiation, the youths are taught purification techniques. Once married and engaged in heterosexual activity men must purify themselves of any contamination that might have been brought upon them by their wife. To do so they engage in heavy nose-bleeding, brought up upon themselves, following each of their wives’ menstrual periods. During this stage they are still cohabiting in their hamlet.
Throughout the sixth and final stage initiation the male is living with his wife. This stage is the celebration of the birth of the male’s offspring. The first birth brings him closer to accomplishing his main goal of achieving total manhood. A second child is needed in order to have completely attained full personhood in both men and women. The births of the first three born are celebrated, since after that time it is obvious that the man has the complete capability of reproduction.
Initiation for the Sambia is a great ritual that makes a man, and the base of their society. The males in this tribe are separated form their mothers at an early age and forced to go through certain initiatory stages, involving pain and traumatic experiences such as homosexual activity throughout the initiation while at the end the result must be a full heterosexual manly man. In spite the decision of the man, he must achieve manhood. If he doesn’t obey the rules of his elders his process will only be prolonged until he is ready.

A man is the compilation of his great strength and defined masculine behaviors. From strength comes manhood, and every male in this tribe must be strong and endure much pain in order to be considered a real man for the Sambia, and have successfully completed the initiation process.

(Flute which signifies manhood)

(Map of Papua New Guinea where tribe resides)
Music: Song Sepik Flutes Kanengara
This sample was taken from the CD entitled Exotic Voices and Rhythms of the South Seas. This sacred flute music is performed to welcome young initiates to the Haus Tambaran tribe, mens' cult house, in preparation for the Initiation Ceremony.(Papua New Guinea).