Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-11-28
SETTLING A FEUD IN soRNEo.
One Reason For Tribesmen's Collec-
tions of Heads.

blood feudS with Wnlcn lney nave
dealt they would fill many and large
volumes, for never a tribe but has its
two or three. says writer In Cham
bers's Journal. Some of these are of
fairly modern origin, and their story.
as told over the camp fires at night by
the "old man" of the tribe, takes but
few minutes to relate, every head
lost or gained being carefully licked
off on the fingers the teller being con-
scious of a score of younger men
suuatting round, each of whom would
consider the omission of his share in
the matter as a personal insult. 9th
ers again are of such long standing
that their origin is lost in the mists Of
time, and no man Of Telocusan can
tell why his village is at feud with the
people of Panawan.
Various causes contribute to give
rise to these blood feuds. Perhaps
during a cattle reiving expedition by
the young bloods of Village A man
of Village B will be killed and his
A. The villagers Of B, biding their
| time (for these are jungle folk, and
not cOurageous), will take party OF
A people at a disadvantage, and the
roofbeam Of B has heavier weight to
carry. Then a blood feud is declared,
and it becomes the bounden duty or
every B man (note the emphasis) to
collect the head Of every A person that
he can manage to fall upon without
much risk to himself, and vice versa.
Each village keeps count Of its score
| by the simple eXpedient of hanging
up the tangible evidence of every point
in the ghastly contest so as to be con-
stantly before its eyes.
And so the game goes on from year
to year and the row Of skulls In each VII
lage grows longer and longer. till there
comes day when the political officer
| having felt his way for months, quiet
| ly suggests to the chief of that 1t
might be an advantage to settle mat
ters and make friends with B. The
chief laughs at the idea; but, all the
same, 1t sinks in, and the old man
finds himself thinking how good it
would be to be able to trade and
search for gutta and rotan in the rich
country around his rivals village.
No more is said, but the white man
finds himself in Village B. and the pro-
cess is repeated. The next step Is a
meeting between the two tribes, step
only gained by almost superhuman pa
tience and tireless diplomacy on the
part of the political officer. First A
will turn up in full force; but the
omens are bad for B, and the meeting
falls through. Next time it is b who
comes up to the scratch, and A finds
an objection. Finally, after lengthy
negotiations, they meet. both sides
fully armed and equally suspicious,
and the white man sitting cool and COL
lected, opens the palaver.
First the score is counted up on
both sides, and his heart sinks as he
hears that there is a difference Of
-
heads; B admits only two. Voices are
raised and the political" anxiously
watches the shades of expression play
ing like ripples on water over the faces
of the men. He detects little signs Of
feeling. invisible to the eye Of the in
experienced onlooker, and keeps the
peace with a joke here, a proverb
there and rarely, very rarely, with a
few words of stern rebuke. At last
the score Is settled; B owes A two
heads, and A will be content to square
matters with two slaves. 1t Is explain
ed gently that the government Qn Ma
lay parentah, an expressive word) Will
not countenance the barter of slaves,
and the suggestion that the value or
the heads should be paid over in buff
faloes, gongs or cloth is received some
what dubiously by both sides.
Now the weakness of the Oriental
for a bargain asserts itself, and more
heated argument ensues; finally the
price is settled, and all that remains is
falo is killed, stone is planted by
each tribe and the blood of the beast
poured over those stones, fearsome
oaths being sworn the while. The GER
emony over, the beast is cooked, tapai
is produced, and the tired political
leaving the newly made friends to
make merry together, goes off to his
hut, conscious of a days work done
and with the prospect of good din
ner before him, for was not his order
ly very prominent at the killing, how
ering around to get a tender joint
for his master and incidentally him.
self? And good buffalo meat is
not to be despised in the jungle as a
rare change from the everlasting ma
tive fowl.
1t may not be out Of place to men,
ton here that at a recent settling of
blood feud the compensation for two
heads, paid in brassware and cloth.
amounted according to the valuation
of a coast native who was present, to
the sum or S3U or ib. In Otner WOruS,
the value of human life in that part
of Borneo was estimated at exactly 80
shillings.
Thus are feuds settled. and the day
is not far distant when head hunting
in Borneo will be a thing of the past.
Even now. under the civilizing influ-
ence of one white man in their midst,
tribes are burying their heads who in
recent years hailed with a weeks fes-
tivities each addition to their collec-
ton, and the political" notes with
quiet pride that the roOfbeams of
houses long accustomed to bear their
ghastly fruit are barred at his coming.
1t is not to be supposed that head
hunters are sole inhabitants of the
country. new arrival who landed d
few years ago at the principal port.
armed to the teeth with two loaded re-
VolverS and a large bowie knife. and
ready to fight for his head at any mo-
ment. was disarmed by a courteous
customs official and directed to a COM
Portable hotel. from the V:randa of