There are extensive rites and rituals of the Melanesian community at the attainment of puberty. The Melanesians are inhabitants of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia (Irian Jaya), Vanuatu (the former New Hebrides), New Caledonia, the Solomon Islands, and some smaller neighboring islands and puberty is a very important rite among these people. But these societies differ in regard to which sex undergoes initiation rites. One of the objectives of the rituals is celebrating and encouraging the physical attractiveness of the teenage years.

An article surveying the cultural history of the Bumbita Arapesh people of the East Sepik province of Papua New Guinea. Based on the field research of anthropologist Stephen Leavitt, this article shows the adverse effects colonization can have on a culture.