Headhunting is the practice ofhunting a human andcollecting theseveredhead after killing the victim, although sometimes more portable body parts (such asear,nose, orscalp) are taken instead astrophies. Headhunting was practiced in historic times in parts ofEurope,East Asia,Oceania,Southeast Asia,South Asia,Mesoamerica,South America,West Africa, andCentral Africa.
The headhunting practice has been the subject of intense study within theanthropological community, where scholars try to assess and interpret its socialroles,functions, and motivations. Anthropological writings explore themes in headhunting that includemortification of the rival,ritual violence,cosmological balance, the display ofmanhood,cannibalism, dominance over the body and soul of his enemies in life and afterlife, as a trophy and proof of killing (achievement in hunting), show of greatness, prestige by taking on a rival's spirit and power, and as a means of securing the services of the victim as a slave in the afterlife.[1]
Today's scholars generally agree that headhunting's primary function was ritual and ceremonial. It was part of the process of structuring, reinforcing, and defendinghierarchical relationships between communities and individuals.[citation needed] Some experts theorize that the practice stemmed from the belief that the head contained "soul matter" or life force, which could be harnessed through its capture.[2]
Among the variousAustronesian peoples,head-hunting raids were strongly tied to the practice oftattooing. In head-hunting societies, tattoos were records of how many heads the warriors had taken in battle, and was part of theinitiation rites into adulthood. The number and location of tattoos, therefore, were indicative of a warrior's status and prowess.[3]
In Southeast Asia, anthropological writings have explored headhunting and other practices of theMurut,Dusun Lotud,Iban,Berawan,Wana andMappurondo tribes. Among these groups, headhunting was usually a ritual activity rather than an act of war or feuding. A warrior would take a single head. Headhunting acted as a catalyst for the cessation of personal and collectivemourning for the community's dead. Ideas of manhood and marriage were encompassed in the practice, and the taken heads were highly prized. Other reasons for headhunting included capture of enemies as slaves, looting of valuable properties, intra and inter-ethnic conflicts, and territorial expansion.
Italian anthropologist and explorerElio Modigliani visited the headhunting communities in SouthNias (an island to the west of Sumatra) in 1886; he wrote a detailed study of their society and beliefs. He found that the main purpose of headhunting was the belief that, if a man owned another person's skull, his victim would serve as a slave of the owner for eternity in the afterlife. Human skulls were a valuable commodity.[1] Sporadic headhunting continued in Nias island until the late 20th century, the last reported incident dating from 1998.[4]
Headhunting was practiced amongSumba people until the early 20th century. It was done only in large war parties. When the men hunted wild animals, by contrast, they operated in silence and secrecy.[5] The skulls collected were hung on the skull tree erected in the center of village.
Kenneth George wrote about annual headhunting rituals that he observed among the Mappurondo religious minority, an uplandtribe in the southwest part of the Indonesian island ofSulawesi. Heads are not taken; instead, surrogate heads in the form of coconuts are used in a ritual ceremony. The ritual, calledpangngae, takes place at the conclusion of the rice-harvesting season. It functions to bring an end to communalmourning for the deceased of the past year; express intercultural tensions and polemics; allow for a display of manhood; distribute communal resources; and resist outside pressures to abandon Mappurondo ways of life.
InSarawak, the north-western region of the island ofBorneo, the first "White Rajah"James Brooke and his descendants established a dynasty. They eradicated headhunting in the hundred years before World War II. Before Brooke's arrival, the Iban had migrated from the middle Kapuas region into the upper Batang Lupar river region by fighting and displacing the small existing tribes, such as the Seru and Bukitan. Another successful migration by the Iban was from the Saribas region into the Kanowit area in the middle of the Batang Rajang river, led by the famous Mujah "Buah Raya". They fought and displaced such tribes as the Kanowit and Baketan.[citation needed]
Brooke first encountered the headhunting Iban of the Saribas-Skrang in Sarawak at the Battle of Betting Maru in 1849. He gained the signing of the Saribas Treaty with the Iban chief of that region, who was named Orang Kaya Pemancha Dana "Bayang". Subsequently, the Brooke dynasty expanded their territory from the first small Sarawak region to the present-day state of Sarawak. They enlisted the Malay, Iban, and other natives as a large unpaid force to defeat and pacify any rebellions in the states. The Brooke administration prohibited headhunting (ngayau in Iban language) and issued penalties for disobeying the Rajah-led government decree. During expeditions sanctioned by the Brooke administration, they allowed headhunting. The natives who participated in Brooke-approved punitive expeditions were exempted from paying annual tax to the Brooke administration and/or given new territories in return for their service. There were intra-tribal and intertribal headhunting.[citation needed]
The most famous Iban warrior to resist the authority of the Brooke administration was Libau "Rentap". The Brooke government had to send three successive punitive expeditions in order to defeat Rentapi at his fortress on the top of Sadok Hill. Brooke's force suffered major defeats during the first two expeditions. During the third and final expedition, Brooke built a largecannon calledBujang Sadok (Prince of Sadok Mount) to rival Rentap's cannon nicknamedBujang Timpang Berang (The One Arm Bachelor) and made a truce with the sons of a famous chief, who supported Rentap in not recognizing the government of Brooke due to his policies.[citation needed]
The Iban performed a third major migration from upper Batang Ai region in the Batang Lupar region into the Batang Kanyau (Embaloh) onwards the upper Katibas and then to the Baleh/Mujong regions in the upper Batang Rajang region. They displaced the existing tribes of the Kayan, Kajang, Ukit, etc. The Brooke administration sanctioned the last migrations of the Iban, and reduced any conflict to a minimum. The Iban conducted sacred ritual ceremonies with special and complex incantations to invoke god's blessings, which were associated with headhunting. An example was the Bird Festival in the Saribas/Skrang region and Proper Festival in the Baleh region, both required for men of the tribes to become effective warriors.[citation needed]
During theJapanese occupation of British Borneo during the Second World War, headhunting was revived among the natives. The Sukarno-led Indonesian forces fought against the formation of the Federation of Malaysia. Forces of Malaya, Singapore, Sabah and Sarawak fought in addition, and headhunting was observed during the communist insurgency in Sarawak and what was then Malaya. The Iban were noted for headhunting, and were later recognised as good rangers and trackers during military operations, during which they were awarded fourteen medals of valour and honour.[citation needed]
Since 1997 serious inter-ethnic violence has erupted on the island of Kalimantan, involving the indigenousDayak peoples and immigrants from the island ofMadura. Events have included theSambas riots andSampit conflict. In 2001, during the Sampit conflict in the CentralKalimantan town ofSampit, at least 500Madurese were killed and up to 100,000 Madurese were forced to flee. Some Madurese bodies were decapitated in a ritual reminiscent of the Dayak headhunting tradition.[6]
TheMoluccans (especiallyAlfurs inSeram), an ethnic group of mixed Austronesian-Papuan origin living in theMaluku Islands, were fierce headhunters until the Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia suppressed the practice.[7]
Headhunting was practiced by manyAustronesian people in Southeast Asia and thePacific Islands. Headhunting has at one time or another been practiced among most of the peoples ofMelanesia,[8] includingNew Guinea.[9] A missionary found 10,000 skulls in a community longhouse onGoaribari Island in 1901.[10]
Historically, theMarind-anim in New Guinea were famed because of their headhunting.[11] The practice was rooted in their belief system and linked to the name-giving of the newborn.[12] The skull was believed to contain amana-like force.[13] Headhunting was not motivated primarily by cannibalism, but the dead person's flesh was consumed in ceremonies following the capture and killing.[14]
TheKorowai, aPapuan tribe in the southeast ofIrian Jaya, live intree houses, some nearly 40 metres (100') high. This was originally believed to be a defensive practice, presumably as protection against theCitak, a tribe of neighbouring headhunters.[15] Some researchers believe that the AmericanMichael Rockefeller, who disappeared in New Guinea in 1961 while on a field trip, may have been taken by headhunters in theAsmat region. He was the son of New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.
InThe Cruise of the Snark (1911), the account byJack London of his 1905 adventure sailing in Micronesia, he recounted that headhunters ofMalaita attacked his ship during a stay inLanga Langa Lagoon, particularly aroundLaulasi Island. His and other ships were kidnapping villagers as workers on plantations, a practice known asblackbirding. Captain Mackenzie of the shipMinolta was beheaded by villagers as retribution for the loss of village men during an armed labour "recruiting" drive. The villagers believed that the ship's crew "owed" several more heads before the score was even.[16]
In New Zealand, theMaori preserved the heads of some of their ancestors as well as certain enemies in a form known asmokomokai. They removed the brain and eyes, and smoked the head, preserving themoko tattoos. The heads were sold to European collectors in the late 1800s, in some instances having been commissioned and "made to order".[17]
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In the Philippines, headhunting was extensive among the variousCordilleran peoples (also known as "Igorot") of theLuzon highlands. It was tied with rites of passage, rice harvests, religious rituals toancestor spirits,blood feuds, andindigenous tattooing. Cordilleran tribes used specific weapons for beheading enemies in raids and warfare, specifically the uniquely shapedhead axes and various swords and knives. Though some Cordilleran tribes living near Christianized lowlanders during theSpanish colonial period had already abandoned the practice by the 19th century, they were still rampant in more remote areas beyond the reach of Spanish colonial authorities. The practices were finally suppressed in the early 20th century by theUnited States during theAmerican colonial period of the Philippines.[18]
Headhunting was a common practice amongTaiwanese aborigines. All tribes practiced headhunting except theYami people, who were previously isolated onOrchid Island, and theIvatan people. It was associated with the peoples of the Philippines.
Taiwanese Plains Aborigines,Han Taiwanese andJapanese settlers were choice victims of headhunting raids by Taiwanese Mountain Aborigines. The latter two groups were considered invaders, liars, and enemies. A headhunting raid would often strike at workers in the fields, or set a dwelling on fire and then kill and behead those who fled from the burning structure. The practice continued during theJapanese rule of Taiwan, but ended in the 1930s due to brutal suppression by the Japanese colonial government.
TheTaiwanese Aboriginal tribes, who were allied with the Dutch against the Chinese during theGuo Huaiyi Rebellion in 1652, turned against the Dutch in turn during theSiege of Fort Zeelandia. They defected toKoxinga's Chinese forces.[19] The Aboriginals (Formosans) of Sincan defected to Koxinga after he offered them amnesty. The Sincan Aboriginals fought for the Chinese and beheaded Dutch people in executions. The frontier aboriginals in the mountains and plains also surrendered and defected to the Chinese on May 17, 1661, celebrating their freedom from compulsory education under Dutch rule. They hunted down Dutch people, beheading them and trashing their Christian school textbooks.[20]
At theBattle of Tamsui in theKeelung Campaign during theSino-French War on 8 October 1884, the Chinese took prisoners and beheaded 11 French marines who were injured, in addition toLa Galissonnière's captain Fontaine. The heads were mounted on bamboo poles and displayed to inciteanti-French feelings. In China, pictures of the beheading of the Frenchmen were published in theTien-shih-tsai Pictorial Journal in Shanghai.[21]
A most unmistakable scene in the market place occurred. Some six heads of Frenchmen, heads of the true French type were exhibited, much to the disgust of foreigners. A few visited the place where they were stuck up, and were glad to leave it—not only on account of the disgusting and barbarous character of the scene, but because the surrounding crowd showed signs of turbulence. At the camp also were eight other Frenchmen's heads, a sight which might have satisfied a savage or a Hill-man, but hardly consistent with the comparatively enlightened tastes, one would think, of Chinese soldiers even of to-day. It is not known how many of the French were killed and wounded; fourteen left their bodies on shore, and no doubt several wounded were taken back to the ships. (Chinese accounts state that twenty were killed and large numbers wounded.)
In the evening Captain Boteler and Consul Frater called on General Sun, remonstrating with him on the subject of cutting heads off, and allowing them to be exhibited. Consul Frater wrote him a despatch on the subject strongly deprecating such practices, and we understand that the general promised it should not occur again, and orders were at once given to bury the heads. It is difficult for a general even situated as Sun is—having to command troops like the Hillmen, who are the veriest savages in the treatment of their enemies—to prevent such barbarities.
It is said the Chinese buried the dead bodies of the Frenchmen after the engagement on 8th instant by order of General Sun. The Chinese are in possession of a machine gun taken or found on the beach.
— James Wheeler Davidson,The Island of Formosa, Past and Present: History, people, resources, and commercial prospects. Tea, camphor, sugar, gold, coal, sulphur, economical plants, and other productions[22]
Han Taiwanese and Taiwanese Aboriginals revolted against the Japanese in theBeipu Uprising in 1907 andTapani Incident in 1915. TheSeediq aboriginals revolted against the Japanese in the 1930Musha Incident and resurrected the practice of headhunting, beheading Japanese during the revolt.
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During theSpring and Autumn period andWarring States period,Qin soldiers frequently collected their defeated enemies' heads as a means to accumulate merits. AfterShang Yang's reforms, the Qin armies adopted ameritocracy system that awards the average soldiers, most of whom were conscriptedserfs and were not paid, an opportunity to earn promotions and rewards from their superiors by collecting the heads of enemies, a type ofbody count. In this area, authorities also displayed heads of executed criminals in public spaces up to the early 20th century.
TheWa people, amountainethnic minority inSouthwest China, easternMyanmar (Shan State) andnorthern Thailand, were once known as the "Wild Wa" byBritish colonists due to their traditional practice of headhunting.[23]
Tom O'Neill wrote:
Samurai also sought glory by headhunting. When a battle ended, the warrior, true to his mercenary origins, would ceremoniously present trophy heads to a general, who would variously reward him with promotions in rank, gold or silver, or land from the defeated clan. Generals displayed the heads of defeated rivals in public squares.[24]
Headhunting has been a practice among theKukis,[25] theWa,[23]Mizo, theGaro and theNaga ethnic groups ofIndia,Bangladesh andMyanmar till the 19th century.[26]Nuristanis in easternAfghanistan were headhunters until the late 19th century.[25]
TheWa people, whose domain straddles the Burma-China border, were once known to Europeans as the "Wild Wa" for their "savage" behavior. Until the 1970s, the Wa practiced headhunting.[27]
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Several tribes of theJivaroan group, including theShuar in Eastern Ecuador and Northern Peru, along the riversChinchipe,Bobonaza,Morona,Upano, andPastaza, main tributaries of theAmazon, practiced headhunting for trophies. The heads wereshrunk, and were known locally asTzan-Tzas. The people believed that the head housed the soul of the person killed.
In the 21st century, the Shuar produce Tzan-tza replicas. They use their traditional process on heads ofmonkeys andsloths, selling the items to tourists. It is believed that splinter groups in the local tribes continue with these practices when there is a tribal feud over territory or as revenge for a crime of passion.[citation needed]
TheKichwa-Lamista people in Peru used to be headhunters.[28]
Atzompantli is a type of wooden rack or palisade documented in severalMesoamerican civilizations. It was used for the public display ofhuman skulls, typically those of war captives or othersacrificial victims.[29]
A tzompantli-type structure has been excavated at the La Coyotera,Oaxaca site. It is dated to the Proto-ClassicZapotec civilization, which flourished from c. 2nd century BCE to the 3rd century CE.[30]Tzompantli are also noted in other Mesoamericanpre-Columbian cultures, such as theToltec andMixtec.
Based on numbers given by theconquistadorAndrés de Tapia and FrayDiego Durán, Bernard Ortiz de Montellano[31] has calculated in the late 20th century that there were at most 60,000 skulls on theHueyi Tzompantli (great Skullrack) ofTenochtitlan. There were at least five more skullracks in Tenochtitlan, but, by all accounts, they were much smaller.
Other examples are indicated fromMaya civilization sites. A particularly fine and intact inscription example survives at the extensiveChichen Itza site.[32]
TheNazca used severed heads, known as trophy heads, in various religious rituals.[33] Late Nazca iconography suggests that the prestige of the leaders of Late Nazca society was enhanced by successful headhunting.[34]
TheCelts of Europe practiced headhunting as the head was believed to house a person's soul. AncientRomans andGreeks recorded the Celts' habits of nailing heads of personal enemies to walls or dangling them from the necks of horses.[35] The Celtic Gaels practiced headhunting a great deal longer. In theUlster Cycle ofIrish mythology, thedemigodCúchulainn beheads the three sons of Nechtan and mounting their heads on his chariot. This is believed to have been a traditional warrior, rather than religious, practice. The practice continued approximately to the end of theMiddle Ages among theIrish clans and even later among theBorder Reivers of the Anglo-Scottish marches.[36] The pagan religious reasons for headhunting were likely lost after the Celts' conversion to Christianity, even though the practice continued.[citation needed]In former Celtic areas,cephalophore representations of saints (miraculously carrying their severed heads) were common.[37]Heads were also taken among theGermanic tribes and amongIberians, but the purpose is unknown.
TheMontenegrins are an ethnic group in Southeastern Europe who are centered around theDinaric mountains and are extremely closely related toSerbs.[38][39] They practiced headhunting until 1876, allegedly carrying the head from a lock of hair grown specifically for that purpose.[40]In the 1830s, Montenegrin rulerPetar II Petrović-Njegoš started building a tower called"Tablja" above Cetinje Monastery. The tower was never finished, and Montenegrins used it to display Turkish heads taken in battle, as they were in frequent conflict with the Ottoman Empire. In 1876 KingNicholas I of Montenegro ordered that the practice should end. He knew that European diplomats considered it to be barbaric. TheTablja was demolished in 1937.
TheScythians were excellent horsemen. Ancient Greek historianHerodotus wrote that some of their tribes practiced human sacrifice, drinking the blood of victims,scalping their enemies, and drinking wine from the enemies' skulls.[41]
Many Chinese soldiers and civilians were beheaded by some Japanese soldiers, who even made contests to see who would kill more people(seeHundred man killing contest), and took photos with the piles of heads as souvenirs.
During World War II,Allied (specifically including American) troops occasionally collected the skulls of dead Japanese as personal trophies, as souvenirs for friends and family at home, and for sale to others. (The practice was unique to thePacific theater; United States forces did not take skulls of German and Italian soldiers.) In September 1942, the Commander in Chief of the Pacific Fleet mandated strong disciplinary action against any soldier who took enemy body parts as souvenirs. But such trophy-hunting persisted:Life published a photograph in its issue of May 22, 1944, of a young woman posing with the autographed skull sent to her by her Navy boyfriend. There was public outrage in the US in response.[42][43]
Historians have suggested that the practice related to Americans viewing the Japanese aslesser people, and in response to mutilation and torture of American war dead.[44] InBorneo, retaliation by natives against the Japanese was based on atrocities having been committed by theImperial Japanese Army in that area. Following their ill treatment by the Japanese, theDayak of Borneo formed a force to help the Allies. Australian and British special operatives ofZ Special Unit developed some of the inland Dayak tribesmen into a thousand-strong headhunting army. This army of tribesmen killed or captured some 1,500 Japanese soldiers.[45]
During theMalayan Emergency (1948–1960), British and Commonwealth forces recruitedIban (Dayak) headhunters fromBorneo to fight and decapitate suspected guerrillas of the socialist and pro-independenceMalayan National Liberation Army, officially claiming this was done for "identification" purposes.[46] Iban headhunters were permitted to keep the scalps of corpses as trophies.[47][46] Privately, the Colonial Office noted that "there is no doubt that underinternational law a similar case in wartime would be awar crime".[48][49][50] Skull fragments from a trophy skull was later found to have been displayed in a British regimental museum.[46]
In April 1952, theBritish Communist Party's official newspaper theDaily Worker (today known as theMorning Star) published a photograph ofRoyal Marines in a British military base in Malaya openly posing with severed human heads.[46][51] Initially, British government spokespersons belonging to theAdmiralty and theColonial Office denied the newspaper's claims and insisted that the photograph was a forgery.[50] In response, theDaily Worker released yet another photograph taken in Malaya showing other British soldiers posing with a severed human head. In response, Colonial SecretaryOliver Lyttelton was forced to admit before theHouse of Commons that theDaily Worker headhunting photographs were indeed genuine.[52] In response to theDaily Worker articles, headhunting was banned byWinston Churchill, who feared that further photographs would continue being exploited for communist propaganda.[46][53]
Despite the shocking imagery of the photographs of soldiers posing with severed heads in Malaya, theDaily Worker was the only British newspaper to publish them during the 20th century, and the photographs were virtually ignored by themainstream British press.[50]
During theVietnam War, some American soldiers engaged in the practice of taking "trophy skulls".[54][55]
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