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. It is too closely identified with
the religious life of the natives, but in time a substitute probably will
be found, just as the sacrifice of the water-buffalo supplanted that of
slaves. The most recent case that came to my notice on the Mahakam was a
Penihing raid from Long Tjehan to the Upper Barito five years previously,
in which four Murung heads were taken.
It is extraordinary that such a revolting habit is practised in a race the
ethics of which otherwise might serve as a model for many so-called
civilised communities, these natives being free to an unusual degree from
the fault of appropriating what belongs to others and from untruthfulness.
The fact that the Dayaks are amiable in disposition and inclined to
timidity renders this phase of their character still more inexplicable.
The inevitable conclusion is that they are driven to this outrage by
religious influences and lose their self-control.
