Sambien Sexual Abuse in Papua, New Guinea

Sambien Sexual Abuse in Papua, New Guinea

(Just a note that photos for this topic were difficult to obtain, so the pictures here are of natives of Papua, New Guinea but not necessarily of people who participate in these unusual sexual acts.) 

The Sambia tribe is a clan of mountain-dwellers, hunters, and farmers who live on the outskirts of the Eastern Highlands Province of Papua, New Guinea.

Social anthropologists have studied the Sambien tribe for their unusual custom of “ritualized homosexuality” and semen ingestion with pubescent young boys in a ceremony dedicated to transforming the young boys into men according to Sambien beliefs.

The Sambiens believe that this rite of passage is for boys who are lacking masculinity, courage, and bravery, all characteristics expected of strong warriors. 

Jurungdu is a substance (formed from semen) that the boys must swallow during sexual acts.

Their strange Sambien ceremony begins when boys are around the age of 6 years old and goes on for several years, consisting of 6 separate stages.

First, they are taught that women can be dangerous to men, so they are separated from girls for about 10 years.

To become a man, and especially a fierce warrior, young men must isolate themselves from their mothers and the girls and women around them to prove their masculinity and ability to be independent and to be able to live without them.

There are accounts that say sharp sticks are shoved up their nostrils, causing them to bleed profusely.

This torture is done to teach them to withstand pain and to learn to be able to endure it.

Then, the boys are taught to perform fellatio on the elders of the tribe and swallow their semen and while some LLB readers have denied this, there are some reports that say boys are also forced to endure anal sex.

Since the Sambien tribe believes that a man’s semen contains a masculine spirit, they feel it is their duty to consume it in order to become the strongest warriors in their tribe.

Young boys must “accumulate” semen for several years, either by regularly receiving anal penetration or by swallowing the ejaculation of male elders.

This ancient custom springs from a religious belief system that regards sperm as the essential channel of masculine energy; puny boys, they believe, are only transformed into virile warriors if they ingest large quantities of sperm.

The training is viewed as a vital and indispensable piece of turning into a man, and not only within the Sambian tribe. These ceremonies involving homosexuality are done by various Melanesian tribesmen in New Guinea and nearby islands.

Elder Namba chiefs of the New Hebrides Islands have numerous boy sex partners; the Keraki of the Papuan lowlands sodomize boys at a bull-roarer ceremony;  and the Great Plateau Kaluli children are given to older men selected by their fathers.

Many tribes — like the Etoro of the Papuan Plateau — claim that semen does not even exist in boys until it is orally or anally “planted.”

The nearby Jacquai clan alludes to the adult “teacher” or “initiator” who penetrates the children as “mo-e” (the butt father) and the small boys as “mo-mog” (rear-end child).

After the initiation process of the boys being givers and receivers of oral sex with other men for years, only then have they reached adulthood and can marry and are then expected to be mostly heterosexual, other than times they are initiating new, younger boys.

Different societies around the world have distinctive masculinization customs that may seem strange to Westerners, but perhaps to Sambiens, bar mitzvahs and circumcisions of young Jewish men as a rite of passage may sound bizarre. 

What do you think about this ritual, do you believe Americans should mind their own business and not get involved, or that we have a responsibility to help when children are involved?

Have you ever heard of strange, sexual customs around the world? Share your thoughts below.