The eve of the equatorial crossing is called Wog Day and, as with many other night-before rituals, is a mild type of reversal of the day to come. Equator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and The tradition began with the Navy over 400 years ago, says anthropology and sociology professor Carie Little Hersh in her 2002 paper Crossing the Line: Sex, Power, Justice, and the U.S. Navy at the Equator. Given its long history, the ritual has changed over the years, but it remains a well-knownalbeit sometimes controversiallinchpin of Naval culture. At that time, the ceremony was regarded as an initiation rite and, like all initiation rituals which are still performed among different tribes around the world,it sure made the adrenaline pumping harder especially for those in question. Y5 Qq;ye>f26&%`M*+*l]H'BNo):-"XE9{4j"Lg@) iV*BN^SBs\-L~N%$uEF7IQfs}`2m~)lMk'C/Cclf[#jFv5OT\S [12] As late as World War II, the line-crossing ceremony was still rather rough and involved activities such as the "Devil's Tongue", which was an electrified piece of metal poked into the sides of those deemed pollywogs. "It is interesting to see how similar our maritime cultures are to one another. By submitting your email you are agreeing to Nine Publishing's Though ceremonies differ, theres a general form and a common cast of characters. Slimy (the traditional adjective) Pollywogs are led out for their hazing in front of King Neptune, and his assistant reads the charges. About 9 am the next day, the novices or "griffins" were assembled in the darkness and heat of the lower deck, then one at a time were blindfolded and led up on deck by "four of Neptunes constables", as "buckets of water were thundered all around". Those who were not favored fared worse. Pollywogs entertain the royal court with a talent show. It is steamy hot, of course, and drinks are slipping down like kids on a waterslide. It is a memory that is etched into each and every seafarer, for it is an event that ushers in a sense of belonging to ones profession. endstream endobj startxref It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. A VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. In order to ensure that all the seafarers show their gratitude towards the mighty sea and receive the blessing from Neptune at the beginning of their career and not wait until they have the chance of crossing the Equator, more and more ceremonies are undergone for the first voyage at sea as well. Credit score requirements vary by lender. Obviously enough, my urge to sleep took the better of me and I dozed off for I would have to go and assist the Chief Mate in is watch in a few hours. I remember going back to my cabin at 1200 hrs after completing some important deck work. (Photo: The Rise and Fall of Cruisingforsex.com, a Digital Atlas of Casual Encounters, AO Video Investigation: Movie Worms Ranked By Size, Morlocks, CHUDS and Graboids: A Bestiary of Fictional Subterranea. Equator-crossing ritual on cruise ships Mal Chenu Puckering up to kiss the fish. (Photo: Public domain/WikiCommons). Professor Hersh described the proceedings of the ritual to me as an inversion. While you are going through the ritual, she explained, you are constantly submissive. In her paper she points to some examples where men were made to perform simulated sexual acts. [10], U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt described his crossing-the-line ceremony aboard the "Happy Ship" USSIndianapolis with his "Jolly Companions" in a letter to his wife Eleanor Roosevelt on 26 November 1936. It was a way for sailors to be tested for their seaworthiness. The controlled order often turned to chaos if a Pollywog revolt began. The Line Crossing Ceremony might just be the most interesting of today's naval traditions. [2] The officer on watch reported a boat ahead, and Captain FitzRoy ordered "hands up, shorten sail". As we approach the middle of the world, quite a few passengers rush to the rails for a look, as though there might be an actual line drawn on the ocean. [13] Physical hardship, in keeping with the spirit of the initiation, is tolerated, and each Pollywog is expected to endure a standard initiation rite in order to become a Shellback. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. Consider supporting our work by becoming a member for as little as $5 a month. WebThe ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. The 90s saw large groups of people balking at its existence. As the cruise ship Voyager of the Seas nears the equator, excitement mounts and all Pollywogs those who have never crossed the line are encouraged to register for the crossing the equator The Navy is chock full of myth and tradition, and what happens at sea even affects our language. at last, glad enough, I escaped. [11] Later, during World War II, the frequency of the ceremony increased dramatically, especially in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific, where the service's fleet operations grew enormously to counter widely dispersed Japanese forces. Read about: Joining Ship? The Royal Canadian Navy named them Tadpoles or Griffins. (Photo: Public domain/WikiCommons). [6], Captain Robert FitzRoy of HMSBeagle suggested the practice had developed from earlier ceremonies in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian vessels passing notable headlands. No one is really sure when or how the Line Crossing Ceremony, "Order of Neptune", came about. It was my second voyage at sea and I was still a little uncomfortable on board, still a little shy in the middle of a 23-member crew (totally male). MORE: Check if you meet the official VA loan requirements. xWMo0W$NHP3lK[miP2c'g=VB"=d3q3oLP\.X~bSFK The Iron Shellback are those on the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and the USS San Jacinto who crossed the equator after a 200+ day voyage during the 2020 pandemic. Even so, the ritual has taken up other homes, albeit with distinctly less oppressive undertones. Heinous as the accusations are, no one seems too concerned until the royal handmaidens bring out the fish. Lastly, the Pollywogs take a royal bath in a pool of sea water before being declared Shellbacks, after which they receive their certificates, which they can proudly hang on their wall at home. (Photo:The Field Museum Library/flickr). And there are no two thoughts on that. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite that commemorates a sailors first crossing of the Equator. stream Following this aspect of the grand event, the sailors are tied together and marched forward to the anchor with the sound of a drum to coordinate movement. A Neptune party to celebrate crossing the equator, 1923. It is a ceremony which has its roots centuries ago when the first adventurous discoverers started their quest for the unknown seas in all four corners of our planet, taking untraveled routes and praying for Gods to bring fair winds, good captures to take back home and pirate free waters. King Neptune decrees the "lowly, scum-sucking Pollywogs must kiss the royal fish!". Pollywogs are then doused with water to symbolise a baptism and are duly admitted to the District of Equatorius as Trusty and Honourable Shellbacks and Sons of Neptune. So, you are [], Ahoy Ahoy, Port Chaplain coming on board. Using a speaking trumpet he questioned Neptune, who would visit them the next morning. There are still cases in which seafarers are put to difficult and embarrassing tests sometimes humiliating and even painful experiences in order to receive the blessing of a very unkind and unfair God.The ones who received the same harsh treatment years before are more likely to perform the same unkind ceremony on the new comers and the more humiliating the situation is the happier they are. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Sailors and Marines from the United States, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Columbia, Peru and Uruguay crossed the equator together aboard the USS New Orleans. This power asymmetry played a role in the ritual, showcasing innate naval biases. Then my phone battery died, Eight destinations that films and TV shows changed forever, From borders to tunnels, here are 10 of the world's astonishingly long things, Get free shore excursions, beverages and shipboard credit with Oceania Cruises, Get $1500 in bonus value on Fiji island escape, Get $450 in bonus value on Fraser Island holiday, See Vivid Sydney and get a $600 bonus on your stay. King Neptune is said to be the ruler of the seas and this entire shindig is orchestrated to appease the King by showing Him respect, to keep a sailor away from the perils of the sea and to bring good luck. endobj It looks like a trout, but the bloke who goes in for the full tongue action is definitely a groper. All-Time Lows: According to interest rates published on July 31, 2020, on FreddieMac.com. 211 0 obj <>/Filter/FlateDecode/ID[<9CAE41BC77A23D4684E864BC01895996>]/Index[187 41]/Info 186 0 R/Length 110/Prev 455655/Root 188 0 R/Size 228/Type/XRef/W[1 3 1]>>stream King, Ernest J., USN. The ship's artist, Augustus Earle, made a sketch of the scene.[5]. I remember the shock I had as soon as I discovered that half of the Filipinos on board were gathered there, some of them dressed up like pirates with funny dresses, tattoos, wigs made up from cleaning mops and a whole arsenal of wooden weapons. The ritual is the subject of a painting by Matthew Benedict named The Mariner's Baptism and of a 1961 book by Henning Henningsen named Crossing the Equator: Sailor's Baptism and Other Initiation Rites. Data and charts, if used, in the article have been sourced from available information and have not been authenticated by any statutory authority. Layer by Layer: A Mexico City Culinary Adventure, Sacred Granaries, Kasbahs and Feasts in Morocco, Monster of the Month: The Hopkinsville Goblins, How to Grow a Dye Garden With Aaron Sanders Head, Paper Botanicals With Kate Croghan Alarcn, Writing the Food Memoir: A Workshop With Gina Rae La Cerva, Reading the Urban Landscape With Annie Novak, Making Scents: Experimental Perfumery With Saskia Wilson-Brown, Secret Nun Cookies at Monasterio del Corpus Christi, Wonder Is Everywhere: Civil War Gold, a New Moai, and More From Around the Web, The Woman Preserving the Endangered Cuisine of Indian Jews, How a Lone Researcher Faced Down Millions of Army Ants on the March in Ecuador. Read my comment again Eric. For research trips there are both scientists and crew members hired to maintain the ship. a signal being given I was tilted head over heels into the water, where two men received me & ducked me. The chant goes up: "KISS THE FISH! Winner will be selected at random on 04/01/2023. MO It was also called crossing the line. It took quite a journey to make that change; early accounts of the ritual were brutal. Did mine in 1978 in the Indian Ocean on the SS Lepeta. Other milestones such as crossing the Antarctic Circle and deep sea diving have also been adopted in this tradition. Check out this weeks video at the bottom. Offer subject to change without notice. WebThis is a continuation of EQUATOR CROSSING CEREMONY PART 1. From that moment on, they are no longer seen as outsiders, but they fully deserved to be included in the seafarers family. Required fields are marked *. He writes personal stories of our nation's veterans and active military members. The Equator Crossing Ceremony is an age-old tradition to commemorate a seafarer crossing the equator for the first time. Top VA Purchase Lender each Fiscal Year between 2016-2022. Newbies are called Pollywogs, Slimy Pollywogs or Slimy Wogs. The glimmer in the eyes of those that have already experienced it, telling you to live every moment of it, for it is never to happen again, is priceless. Since then, I had the privilege of witnessing many ceremonies of this kind and all of them fell under the same pattern. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. For instance, blackface was a common element of it before World War II, but once integration hit the military that part stopped. The ceremony is a long-standing tradition of initiation that commemorates a sailors first time crossing of the equator. Reflecting the popularity of tattoos among sailors, some people choose to get tattoos to mark that they have participated in a ceremony, such as an image of a shellback turtle or King Neptune. Columbia, By the end of WW II, the United States Navy had added nearly 1,200 major combatant vessels to its combined fleet. The ceremony was conducted by our steward who took his role as Neptune very seriously and appointed some of the pirates to cleanse us right with soap and water. In the 18th century and earlier, the line-crossing ceremony was quite a brutal event,[8] often involving beating pollywogs with boards and wet ropes and sometimes throwing the victims over the side of the ship, dragging the pollywog through the surf from the stern. On the open sea, even the leader of a great nation must answer to King Neptune. (Photo: A Neptune party to celebrate crossing the equator, 1923. Each ship might have their own traditions and nuances, but the fundamental structure goes something like this: Many accounts dwell only on the final, elaborate ceremony that takes place on the day a ship traverses the equator, but the month leading up to King Neptune's arrival, when the Pollywogs are separated off from the Shellbacks, is also significant. The scepter is laid forth to mark this moment of truth. Because I know with a smile and a handshake [], A Queen is no ordinary woman. One person, in fact, did. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. [9] The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune. Hersh writes: Pollywogs who are disliked, or who are suspected of being gay, receive especially harsh treatment, while favored wogs or high-ranking wogs are often pulled out of the ritual early, or are permitted to go through it without too much harassment.. This line-crossing lunacy was sanctioned to boost sailors spirits. NH 106226. WebWelcome to Equator CrossingThe line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite that commemorates a person's first crossing of the Equator. WebEquator crossing certificate. The excitement and enthusiasm that prevails among fellow shipmates at the time of conducting the line-crossing ceremony is one that beams of a happy past experience of the same and that of passing on the baton of the art of sailing to newbies. Most prominently, ocean scientists are known to perform similar ceremonies. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite that commemorates a sailors first crossing of the Equator. % He actually told me that he had never agreed to humiliating or painful trials for the new comers because the strength of a real seafarer stays in his heart, his wisdom and his kindness and these qualities can not be tested through silly, humiliating or painful ordeals.. Aboard sail training ships as an inversion then, I had the of! Is a long-standing tradition of initiation that commemorates a sailors first crossing the. Power asymmetry played a role in the Indian Ocean on the open sea, even the leader a! 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