The occasion of the ship ‘crossing the line’ called for the traditional celebration of the Neptune Festival, with those crossing the equator for the first time being dunked in sea water. Usually, a sailor dressed up as the god Neptune, with bared torso, beard and trident. Numerous travel accounts describe this tradition, which has been honoured on board ships to this very day. For many, the festival was a welcome distraction from what was a rather monotonous voyage, despite the occasional irregularities (drunkenness, quarrelling). This photo from the 1930s shows a passenger being hoisted into a tank with sea water, King Neptune watching from his throne.
Photo of the ‘Neptune Festival’ on board a ship heading for the Indies, presumably in the waters of the Indian Ocean, around 1935. [KITLV 404698]