“I was in Bajawa, Indonesia, looking to explore the indigenous interior of Flores. I met a local who knew of a harvest festival at a remote village. We picked up a German tourist en route, then spent three hours trekking by motorbike past the jungle covered valleys, looming volcanoes, and wild rivers of Flores…

We arrived to find the young men in a field surrounded by an enthralled crowd, but we immediately became the main attraction. I learned through my guide that we were the first westerners to visit the town. The men were boxing with a sacred object made from a sharply notched rope block dipped in sacrificed pigs blood, one blow from which easily broke skin…

While I opted not to partake in this passage of manhood, enough rounds of palm “wine” and prodding by the locals was beginning to work up my courage. Fortunately, the festival wound down and I was invited by the chief to feast with the men on the rare delicacy of pork stew…”

– Steve Cohen

053/100 of #100DaysofConfessions Instagram Project