Two young men in the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea display razor scars on their backs from a skin-cutting ceremony to initiate their manhood.
Two young men in the Sepik River area of Papua New Guinea (PNG) display scars on their backs from a manhood initiation ceremony. The ritual involves cutting the skin with a razor blade so that the scars resemble the bumpy hide of a crocodile, a reptile representing strength and masculinity that is worshipped in the region as a water spirit.
Size: 3700px × 2486px
Location: Wombun, Chambri Lakes, Sepik River area, Papua New Guinea (PNG)
Photo credit: © Michele and Tom Grimm / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: backs, blades, boys, ceremonies, ceremony, chambri, crocodile, cultural, culture, custom, customs, cut, cuts, cutting, guinea, horizontal, horizontals, initiation, lakes, landscape, male, males, man, manhood, markings, marks, masculine, masculinity, men, naked, native, natives, outdoors, papua, passage, pattern, patterns, png, razor, rite, rites, ritual, rituals, river, scales, scarification, scarify, scarring, scars, sepik, skin, skin-cutting, tradition, traditions, tribal, wombun, young
