The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1922-11-18
ASIATIC TRIBE HUNTS HEADS
TO INSURE A GOOD HARVEST
Was Believe Seed Grain Must Be
Charmed and Conjured
With Skulls.

Ralph e. Henderson, q Harvard
graduate who has spent the past eight
months travelling in southern Asia, has
just completed a trip through the
British "unadministered territory" OF
northeastern Burma and into the Chi
nese province of Yunnan, neither OF
which have been thoroughly explored
by white men.
Among the wild tribes encountered
on this trip were the head hunting
Was. Hitherto little has been definite
ly known concerning the life and Gus
toms Of this tribe, as most of those
who fntruded upon Wa territory failed
to return. The Was do not hunt heads
primarily from cannibalistic motives,
but rather because of their belief that
their crops will fail unless some fresh
human skulls are imported every year.
Under this impression they organize
~head-hunting expeditions every spring,
and 1t Is small consolation to the I'M
fortunate traveller who falls into their
hands that 1t is only his skull that is
wanted.
Writing of the wild Was, Mr.. Hen
derson says:
sThe Was are especially keen on
hunting heads during February, March
and April-just before the planting
season. From the Wa angle of looking
at 1t the business isn't the madness
we TAX 1t to be. 1t is a convention
and quite as reasonable as afternoon
tea. Every decently religious Wa
knows thai unless the seed grain is
properly charmed and conjured with
a human head the crop raised from
1t will be a failure. And who wants to
starve? In fact, II worst comes to
worst and there are no heads forth
coming from raids on ~neighbors the
Was prefer to take the head of some
feeble person in the village rather than
run the risk of scantf crops and conse-
quent empty stomachs. wa !
"In February, March and April, then,
the Wild Wa men 60 hunting. OF
course, any head that offers itself to
be collected Is regarded as fair game
and 1t behooves the man working
alone cutting jungle or the woman hoe
Ing alone In the field to be cautious
when the Was are afoot. A common
artlfice is to barrieade some jungle
highway and lie in ambush, some just
behind the barricade some on either
side, to rush down on the TANKS Of any
party caught In the trap.
"Heads Of men, women and children
over twelve years old are acceptable.
Heads marked with smallpox, for SUI
perstitious reasons, are not desired.
A successful foray is one which yields I
one or more corpses. Immediately the
heads are cut off and put In bags.
Then back home go the rejoicing Was, !
neglecting to take the bodies along =
for the larder and raising q tremen- :
w%hooping and hulIabaloo along
the way. AT home there is a ceremony
to perform. The wife or mother of the
nan who made the kill takes the
head out of the bag and proceeds TO
wall over it formally. She must wash
the blood from the dead face and wall
an unconditional song as she does SO.
She must work herself into a senti- :
frenzy. which feat under the !
circumstances is usually easy Of per :.
If her wailing lacks the ;,
ing of ~genuineness her husband helps
o supply that which is lacking by
her.
"This song, strangely enough, be-
eeches the aid of The spirit of the
lead and addresses it az a mighty
uler. 1t is this spirit which is TO pro-
note the growth Of the crops, and 1t
must be treated with great reverence.
heard this song once.
after the head has been washed
nd walled over, a raw egg is put into
he dead mouth to feed the spirit.
hen the head is thrust up on a pole.
basket of seed paddy (rice) is put A
nder it and left for a few days"
ostmasters Prepare for Christmas 81
Washington-(A. P.)-"Wrap well, Il
lail early y This now familiar 7
hristmas slogan of the post office
already has started a
cross. Expecting an extra heavy
hristmas business this season, de- a
officials are warning post v
asters to lay their plans early. tt
So well has the post office service e.
organized of late years that no n
methods will be tried this year.
whose patronage is SO OF
rye that greatly augmented work e.
g staffs are needed, nave been di- CT
,cted to give first preference in en-
oyment to men with families, and
ose long out of a job.
Christmas always costs Uncle Sam
etween four and five million dollars
It extra clerks, carriers, transpor- c.
ton facilities and renting Of extra n
b.