 Villagers of Puruknawi village manhandle a giant crocodile at the Sepik River Crocodile Festival (above); a fine example of crocodile tattooing (rihgt) |
I was just a little unnerved at being nipped on the hand by a baby crocodile - one that I'd previously even patted. I thought it liked me! But such minor suffering is as nothing compared to the pain willingly undergone by those undergoing crocodile tattooing in the villages along the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea. The skin is scarified and the wound filled with mud, so that when healed the tattoo stands above the skin like a rampant crocodile. The tattoo subjects fortunately don't take on the demeanour of their crocs, like all their countrymen remaining polite and hospitable in the extreme. 
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