New-York tribune., 1905-03-26
REFORMED DYAK HEAD HUNTERS.
In Former Days No Man in the Tribe Had
Any Standing Until He Killed an Enemy,

The home Of the Dyals head hunter is in the for
ests of the interior Of Borneo. and in order to OBJ
serve that interesting mortal on his native heath
you must leave behind railroads and steamers. put
yourself and your belongings into native long
boat and travel days up of the great rivers
which rise in the mountains Of Central Borneo and
find their way into the China Sea
The origin Of head hunting among the Dyaks is
told in a legend which has been handed down from
father to son from far off time to which even
a Mulhau or an Edward Atkinson would hesitate
to affx an exact date.
It appears that certain chief of the Shop Tribe
of Dyaks Tokong by name. off with some Of
his men on an expedition to punish band OF rob-
bers who had attack Shop village. They trav-
elled by river until they reached point near the
camp of the robbers and then after fastening their
boats the bank they waited in the shade Of some
trees 30 cook good round meal before they made
the projected attack Just as they about to
start Tokong heard gruf bass voice issuing from
behind bowlder and going to the spot he saw
a large frog. surrounded by it's young ones. He
greeted the frog. which thereupon addressed him
at length on the subject of Dyak fighting methods
What fools you are" he said ito content your
self when you kill enemy by taking his scalp
to adorn your shields and scabbards. Now. If YOU
would only take the whole head you would find that
every kind of good fortune would attend you
After discussion with his followers Tokong
ey G sS the rob he next day they ooR
good care carry off the heads Of the thieves What
their astonishment on reaching the river again
TO find their boats already launched AS soon as
they were seated IN the DoatS tney peSan TO move
of their own accord; the very current OF the river
changed, and flowed uphill On their arrival at the
village they found that the rice, which had only
been planted few days before. already ripe;
recovered; that the lame could walk and the blind
Before head hunting was suppressed freshly taken
heads required in connection with a great
number of civil and religious ceremonies.
If a chief died il necessary to decorate his
grave with a head for If this not done the
earthly home before retiring finally to balun natal
"the fields of the dead" would that proper
spect had been paid to his corpse, and he would
all his surviving relatives, so that they would
become blind deaf or lame.
In tribes 1t was the custom to secure a
Der of heads whenever chief died under the belief
that the murdered men and women would go TO
the next world with the dead chief his personal
But there was scarcely any important occasion
which did not call for heads. chiefs child could
a Dyak youth could find favor in the eyes of his
sweetheart until he had taken head or two; moth
ing insured so much good luck. either IN war ex-
peditions or in rice planting, as the addition OF a
OF every Dyak house decorated
The head hunter as seen to-day in BOrneo is q
reformed character, but, although that element in
his life which exercised g. morbid fascination for
all lovers of the horrible and grotesque no longer
exists, there remains much that Is quaint and in
teresting in the daily life OF the Dyak.
In with great number of people in all
ages and in all parts OF the world, the Dyaks have
an elaborate system of taboo which they call per-
matong or lalI One of the interesting OF
these taboos IS that known as permatong padi
which is a taboo that extends to ali the members
OF Dyak village during certain seasons OF the rice
planting.
An occasional case of head hunting occurs in the
interior OF the country but national custom il
has died out under the influence of Just but firm
government, which has declared head hunting to be
against the law.-(Chicago Chronicle.