解説Crossing the line ceremony HMAS MELBOURNE (7749992708).jpg
English: Crossing the line ceremonies have long been associated with sea travel. The ceremony is performed on board ships to mark the occasion when passengers or crew are crossing the equator for the first time in their experience. Members of a ship's company are called upon to dress up and take the roles of particular traditional characters to conduct the ceremony such as King Neptune, his wife Queen Amphitrite, a barber, a surgeon, bears, guards and sea nymphs. After parading around the ship a court is held on a platform near to a a large canvas bath filled with water. King Neptune summons the new travellers and after they pass through the hands of the surgeon and the barber they are tipped backwards into the bath. Those initiated during these ceremonies are issued with a certificate which exempts them from a repeat of the treatment on any further voyages.
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Object number ANMS0823[228]
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