The return of the members of
the raid, he cut the head from the murderer of his child while the
celebration was in progress. His action was so sudden that they were
totally unprepared, and no attempt was made to prevent his escape with the
head.
In times gone by when a Saputan man, woman, or child died it was the
custom for a member of the family to go forth to look for a head. In the
case of an ordinary person one was deemed sufficient, but for a chief five
to ten were necessary. When taking a head a cut was made in the slain
man's chest with a parang; into the wound the raiders then put their
forefingers and sucked the blood from them.
Each head-hunter carried rice in a rattan basket, but he depended for food
mainly on sago-palms and wild animals that were killed. After such an
expedition has been determined upon, the preparations may occupy a year or
even longer, but usually about three months. When all is ready for a
start, a delay of from one to four days may be caused by unfavourable
interference of an omen bird. Should a bird chance to repeat the omen when
another start is made, the party must return to the kampong and wait a
long time. The Dayaks are very much guided in their actions by omens taken
not only from birds but also from incidents, and merely to hear a certain
bird is sufficient reason to change all plans.
When leaving their kampong to take part in an expedition to New Guinea the
Penihings heard the cry of a bird called tarratjan, and requested the
lieutenant in charge to wait four days. He replied, naturally, that the
Company (government) does not employ birds in making decisions, and while
the Dayaks offered no further objection they declared to him that one of
them would surely die. According to my informant it so happened that
before arriving at the island one man died. If at such a time a large tree
should be seen falling, he said, then they would like to give up the trip
to New Guinea entirely, but being afraid of the Company they go,
notwithstanding the warning.
If a head-hunting party sees a large tree fall, the expedition is
abandoned, and no young men who took part can ever join another venture of
the same kind. Old and experienced men, after the lapse of a year, may
resume operations. In case of meeting a centipede a head-hunting
expedition must return immediately to the kampong, and for four years no
such enterprise may be undertaken.
The purposes of head-hunting are manifold. The slain man is believed to
change into a servant and assistant in the next life. When a chief dies it
becomes an essential duty to provide him with heads, which are deposited
on his grave as sacrifices, and the souls of which serve him in the next
life. Heads taken for the benefit of kampong people are hung in the house
of the kapala to counteract misfortune and to confer all manner of
benefits. An important point is that the presence of the heads from other
tribes, or rather of the souls residing in them, compels evil antohs to
depart. A kampong thus becomes purified, free from disease. The killing of
a fowl is not sufficient to accomplish this; that of a pig helps a little,
a water-buffalo more, but to kill a man and bring the head makes the
kampong completely clean.
With the Katingans a head hanging in the house is considered a far better
guardian than the wooden figures called kapatongs, which play an important
part in the life of that tribe. Any fear of resentment on the part of the
liao (departed soul) residing in the head is precluded by their belief
that the Katingan antoh gave him the order to watch.
"If no heads are brought in there will be much illness, poor harvest,
little fruit, fish will not come 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.
