Seventeen years among the Sea Dyaks of Borneo; a ... - Sabrizain.org

HEAD-HUNTING 75
Again, it was customary in some tribes to bring home
a head as an offering to the spirits when a new village
was to be built.
Both these customs are no longer observed. At
the feast in honour of the dead— Begawai Antu—
the headman of the house generally cuts open the
bundles of finery that have been put away, and at
the building of a new house the killing of a pig is
supposed to be sufficient to satisfy
spirits.
the demands of the
It is presumed that a man who has secured a human
head must necessarily be brave. But this need not be
the case at all, for, as has been said, the head of a woman
or child will serve the purpose. And these heads need
not be obtained in open warfare. Very
often the head
of an enemy is taken while he is asleep. Nor is it
that a man should kill his victim with his
necessary
own hand. Frequently many of his friends assist him in
killing some unfortunate man whom they have waylaid,
and then he comes home with the head, and poses as a
hero !
It was customary in the old days to announce an
expedition that one tribe intended to take against
another at one of their feasts, when the village was
thronged with guests from far and near. Some great
Chief would advance his reason for the intended attack.
Either some of his people had been slain, and revenge was
called for, or else they wished to put off their mourning,
and for that required a human head taken in war.
Perhaps the reason was that they intended to build a
new village house, and so required some human heads
to use as offerings to the spirit of the land ;
or possibly
he himself wished to marry, and wanted a head as a