Up the river as far as our kampong, and
the dogs will not care to pursue pigs," I was told by a Penihing who had
taken part in a head-hunt and served his sentence in Soerabaia. "But are
not people angry at losing their heads?" I asked him. "No," he answered,
"we give the heads food on their arrival and every month afterward, and
make fire every evening to keep them warm. If they feel cold, then they
get angry." The man who has taken a head is considered a hero by the
women, and if unmarried is certain to secure a desirable wife, but it is
erroneous to assert that the taking of a head was or is a necessary
condition to marriage.
The government of the Dutch Indies, with energy and success, is
eradicating the evil head-hunting custom. Military expeditions involving
great expense from time to time are sent into remote regions to capture a
handful of culprits. By exercising tact it is not difficult finally to
locate the malefactors, and indeed the tribe may deliver them. It must be
remembered that the Dayaks themselves have no idea that there is anything
wrong in taking heads, and the government very wisely does not impose the
death penalty, but the transgressor is taken to Soerabaia, on Java, to
undergo some years of hard labour - from four to six, I understand. To "go
to Soerabaia" is extremely distasteful to the natives, and has proved a
most effective deterrent. On account of their forced stay at this remote
island city such Dayaks learn to speak Malay and several times I have
employed them. They are usually among the best men of the kampong,
resourceful, reliable, and intelligent, and may serve also as
interpreters.
In his report on a journey to the Katingans in 1909 Captain J.J.M. Hageman
says:
"By nature the Dayak is a good-tempered man. The head-hunting should not
be charged against him as a dastardly deed; for him it is an adat. In the
second place, he possesses very good traits of character, as evidenced by
his hospitality and generosity. Our soldiers, some sixty in number,
obtained a meal immediately in every kampong. When a Dayak goes on a
journey in a friendly region he may be sure of receiving shelter and food
in every house.
"They are distrustful of foreigners, but if he has gained their confidence
they give assistance freely in every respect. Loving their liberty in a
high degree they prefer not to be ordered. The cowardly manner in which
they cut heads is no criterion of their courage."
It would not be in accordance with facts to suppose that head-hunting has
altogether been eliminated in Borneo.
