The extraordinary mission of a crocodile canoe

en.ptnet.cn | Updated:2026-01-06 | Lin Kongbo, Stephanie

Among the Iatmul people of Papua New Guinea, death is not seen as a final departure, but as a journey to another world. Guiding ancestors on this journey is a solemn responsibility, and the most important ritual vessel is the spirit canoe. After funeral rites are completed, ritual incantations are recited to invite the crocodile — a powerful spiritual guide — to lead the way. Pigs favoured by the deceased accompany the voyage, symbolically travelling by canoe to the ancestral realm. Covered in carved signs and motifs, each representing a wish for protection, the canoe is not an everyday object but a ceremonial "luxury vessel" carrying ancestors safely to the next world.