The Island of Menstruating Men

The men and women on Wogeo both lead very different lives, this is made clear by the distinct rituals that each sex participates in throughout their life, the roles held in tribal events as well as the strict customs that are adhered to in the daily life. Now, though the men and women have very different customs that they practice, both sexes of Wogeo are noticeably similar on a social scale. The truth is that on the island of Wogeo the tribes are male dominated. Through practiced customs and social norms the women of Wogeo are able to increase their social status to be on par with that of the men.
The people of Wogeo have very specific traditions and rites of passage ceremonies that are held throughout a person’s life on the island. Generally the men on the village run the ceremonies and try and do so with the upmost secrecy. Most of the men believe that they are tricking the women but this is far from the truth. The women of Wogeo let the males believe that they are fool but the reality of it is that they know exactly what it going on. These ceremonies are an essential part of the culture and are a part of what make the men and women socially equal. The men of Wogeo go through 5 rites of passage in their life time, the ceremonies are correlated with growth and done to celebrate a milestone in the man’s life but more importantly to ensure that the boy grows into a man. Ian Hogbin, author of The Island of Menstruating Men, states “I have spoken of the belief that a boy cannot become a man unless he performs on the flute. It is also thought that there would be no hope of his taking in the rudiments of the art without the prior elimination of the injurious elements absorbed from the females during his infancy and childhood.” (Hogbin 114) In order the rites of passage for men are as follows; piercing of the ears at infancy, admission