This line-crossing lunacy was sanctioned to boost sailors spirits. May you always sail in safe seas and always find your way back home! Your email address will not be published. It was also called crossing the line. Interrogations were held by King Neptune and his entourage who used truth serum (aftershave and hot sauce), or whole uncooked eggs in the Pollywoggers mouth. Beatings were often still common, usually with wet firehoses, and several World War II Navy deck logs speak of sailors visiting sick bay after crossing the line. The transition flows from established order to the "controlled chaos" of the Pollywog Revolt, the beginnings of re-order in the initiation rite as the fewer but experienced enlisted crew converts the Wogs through physical tests, then back to, and thereby affirming, the pre-established order of officers and enlisted. Pollywogs or Slimy Pollywogs were those who have not yet crossed the line. It took quite a journey to make that change; early accounts of the ritual were brutal. Crossing the Line is nearly as old as seafaring itself; even in antiquity sailors engaged in rituals when crossing certain parallels. WebThe ceremony of Crossing the Line is an initiation rite that commemorates a sailors first crossing of the Equator. Licensed in all 50 states. Newbies are called Pollywogs, Slimy Pollywogs or Slimy Wogs. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. (July 14): NNS130704-01. It is very seldom to find an age-old tradition that is carried out with such gusto at shore. [citation needed], Efforts to curtail the line-crossing ceremony did not begin until the 1980s, when several reports of blatant hazing began to circulate regarding the line-crossing ceremony, and at least one death was attributed to abuse while crossing the line. Webthe equator, this ceremony has a rich and varied history. Maine 's commanding officer greets King Neptune and Royal Party at beginning of equator crossing ceremonies. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. But line-crossing has expanded to other corners of seafaring culture, including the unlikely place of scientific research cruises. WebEquator-crossing ceremonies, typically featuring King Neptune, are common in the Navy and are also sometimes carried out for passengers' entertainment on civilian ocean liners and cruise ships. [3][4], In the Royal Canadian Navy, those who have not yet crossed the equator are nicknamed Tadpoles, or Dirty Tadpoles; an earlier nickname was griffins. Why? Slimy (the traditional adjective) Pollywogs are led out for their hazing in front of King Neptune, and his assistant reads the charges. Perhaps the most famous scientist to be initiated was Charles Darwin, who wrote about it in his diary. No purchase necessary. This is how #EQUATOR_CROSSING_CEREMONY is celebrated onboard. a signal being given I was tilted head over heels into the water, where two men received me & ducked me. According to Banks, some of those ducked were "grinning and exulting in their hardiness", but others "were almost suffocated". The ritual dates back at least 400 years in Western seafaring. The ceremony is carefully orchestrated by the ship's officers, with some sailors reporting the events to be lackluster due to the removal of the rites of initiation. Anyone inducted is quick to say they are part of this Order, but resistant to go into more detail. 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. Why fly home from Bali when you can cruise in style? 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. Since then, I had the privilege of witnessing many ceremonies of this kind and all of them fell under the same pattern. 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. See. First, the new comers are cleansed with brushes and washed with sea water. Their most recent ceremony was during the summer of 2019, on the TSES VI, held shortly after departing Reykjavik. Learn how your comment data is processed. Next, the Pollywogs kneel before the King and kiss the royal baby's belly, which according to some accounts is covered in grease. From that moment on, they are no longer seen as outsiders, but they fully deserved to be included in the seafarers family. This is a usually light-hearted event that allows the ships crew to take some time out from their hectic schedules and have fun with the rest of the crewmates. For full functionality of this site it is necessary to enable JavaScript. The older and more experienced sailors were always so happy to perform the most outrageous tricks and games on the new comers that they sometimes crossed the limits of entertainment and brought the game to a dangerous and even deadly point. It was also an initiation rite commemorated the first time a sailor crossed over. 1400 Forum Blvd. High ranking members of the crew and those who have been Shellbacks the longest dress up in elaborate costume and each play the part of King Neptune's court. So we though lets compile one of those facts about titanic ship that probably you are unaware of. endobj SUNY Maritime occasionally holds a Blue Nose ceremony for its cadets after crossing the Arctic Circle. most of the others were treated much worse, dirty mixtures being put in their mouths & rubbed on their faces. Then the heads are shaved in the most uneven manner possible (no historical reasoning for it, but personally judging, it is most likely to do with a purging process) and paint is applied at random all over the body (privates aside!). WebWelcome to Equator CrossingThe line-crossing ceremony is an initiation rite that commemorates a person's first crossing of the Equator. She recalled the innovative costumes and how almost everyone on the ship was involved. During the ceremony, the Pollywogs undergo a number of increasingly embarrassing ordeals (wearing clothing inside out and backwards; crawling on hands and knees on nonskid-coated decks; being swatted with short lengths of firehose; being locked in stocks & pillories and pelted with mushy fruit; being locked in a water coffin of salt-water and bright green sea dye [fluorescent sodium salt]; crawling through chutes or large tubs of rotting garbage; kissing the Royal Baby's belly coated with axle grease, hair chopping, etc. Wogs then returned to the forecastle, where they were hosed off by firehose and then allowed to kiss, in turn, the belly of the sea-baby, the foot of the sea-hag, and the ring of King Neptune, each personified by Shellbacks. Pollywogs entertain the royal court with a talent show. 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. They are also performed in the merchant navy and aboard sail training ships. NH 106226. A VA approved lender; Not endorsed or sponsored by the Dept. The two-day event (evening and day) is a ritual in which previously inducted crew members (Trusty Shellbacks) are organized into a "Court of Neptune" and induct the Slimy Pollywogs into "the mysteries of the Deep". The ceremony observes a mariner's transformation from slimy Pollywog, a seaman who hasn't crossed the equator, to trusty Shellback, also called a Son or Daughter of Neptune. [2] The officer on watch reported a boat ahead, and Captain FitzRoy ordered "hands up, shorten sail". WebThis is a continuation of EQUATOR CROSSING CEREMONY PART 1. <> 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. The Star Spangled Shellbacks was used for those crossing the equator on July 4th, 1966. In more than one instance, sailors were reported to have been killed while participating in a line-crossing ceremony. 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. CALCULATE: Calculate your VA Loan savings. [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. The controlled order often turned to chaos if a Pollywog revolt began. Naval History and Heritage Command. 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 One former Navy man posted videos of the ritual to YouTube. This is typical of certificates awarded in the pre-WWII period. [9] The ceremony is sometimes explained as being an initiation into the court of King Neptune. King Neptune goes to make an earnest speech and accepts the ushering of the sailor into the sea under the auspice of Her Majesty! Here are the instructions how to enable JavaScript in your web browser. Read my comment again Eric. Some people may find this a silly game, but seafarers know for certain that receiving the blessing from the God of the Sea is always an honor and must be regarded as such.Equator Crossing ceremony is just a humble way of recognizing Neptune as Master of the Seas and all the seafarers who receive Neptunes permission to sail his waters have to be celebrated and congratulated by all the crew on board. [5], By the eighteenth century, there were well-established line-crossing rituals in the British Royal Navy. Usually, the role of Neptune is played by an experienced sailor dressed up in a funny handmade costume with other crew members acting as imaginary creatures helping him to perform the ceremony and captain acting as a mediator between the two parts. Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System & Directory As with most healthy traditions, the small indignities are a symbolism for inclusion and frolic. 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