The Sambia tribe of Papua New Guinea practiced a ritualized form of homosexuality as a male rite of passage. Except these rituals heavily surrounded one act: semen ingestion. The tribe believed that puberty was impossible unless boys started consuming semen at a young age and that mothers could not gestate a child without semen ingestion as well.
The full initiation is reported to start with boys being removed from their mothers at the age of nine. This process is not always voluntary and can involve threats of death.The children are then beaten and stabbed in their nostrils with sticks to make them bleed. In the next stage the children are hit with stinging nettles.The boys are then dressed in ritual clothing and an attempt is made to force them to suck on ritual flutes. The boys are then taken to a cult house and older boys dance in front of them making sexual gestures. Once it gets darker the younger boys are taken to the dancing ground where they are expected to perform fellatio on the older boys.
Male rites of passage
Maku: This is the first rite of passage for the boys. They are separated from their mothers at this stage and participate in bloodletting (where long sticks are inserted up their nostrils to make them bleed), therefore ridding themselves of their mothers' presence in them. The Simbari people do not believe that males are born with semen and so, during Maku, the boys participate in fellatio. They are also required to undergo a strict diet during this time period, which is from age 7–10.
Imbutu: This stage is filled with camaraderie, male bonding, and rewards for making it through the first set of Rites.
Ipmangwi: During this stage, the boys begin to go through puberty, and they no longer need to participate in fellatio. They also learn gender roles, and how to have intercourse. Once they have learned this, they look for a wife and marry during this stage. It lasts for three years as well, during the ages 13–16.
Nupusha: During this stage, the males get married and have intercourse. This stage happens only after the others have been completed, and they must be at least 16 years old.
Taiketnyi: The males undergo bloodletting again during this stage, as their wives have their first menstrual cycle as married women.
Moondung: This stage is when the women give birth to their first child. This is the final step, and signifies completion of the Rites of passage. They can now be considered full-grown, respectable men.[8]
Gender roles and sexuality
The Simbari people believe in the necessity of gender roles within their culture. Relationships between men and women of all ages are complex, with many rules and restrictions. For example, boys are removed from their mothers at age seven, to strip them of contact with their mothers. They even perform a bloodletting ritual on the boys following isolation from their mothers to rid them of their mother's blood from within them, which is viewed as contaminated. This separation is due to men's fear of women, as they are taught from a young age about the women's ability to emasculate and manipulate men. The women possess what the Simbari call a tingu, through which they use their manipulation skills.[clarification needed] To combat the women's sorcery, the men go through rites of passage, in which they learn to safely have intercourse with women without becoming metaphorically trapped. The women are also separated from the men when they are menstruating. During this time they stay in the "menarche hut" because of the belief that the women's powers are strengthened during this time.
Pre-pubescent boys are required to perform fellatio on older males and swallow the semen because it is believed that "without this 'male milk' they will fail to mature properly." Upon reaching adulthood, men marry and engage in heterosexual behavior, initially requiring their brides to fellate them and later perform penis-in-vagina sexual intercourse. Homosexual behavior past this point is rare.