Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
fication of the penis. Some men will even sew beads into their foreskins to make their nether regions resemble the
giant Rafflesia flower.
The impetus behind these self-inflicted 'works of art' is actually to enhance a woman's pleasure rather than per-
sonal adornment. Among some communities these radical procedures were once just as important as lopping off
heads.
Land of the Headhunters
Headhunting
(ngayau)
has been relegated to the realm of tourist brochures, T-shirts and
Dayaks' self-deprecating witticisms, but for over 500 years it was an important element of
Borneo's indigenous culture.
Many of the rites, rituals and beliefs surrounding this gruesome tradition remain
shrouded in mystery but one aspect was unchanging: the act of taking heads was always
treated with the utmost seriousness. Warriors would go out on two types of expeditions:
kayo bala
, a group raid involving several warriors; and
kayo anak
, performed by a
bu-
jang berani
(lone brave). The takers of heads often bore no personal animosity to their
victims.
In the upper regions of the Batang Rejang, the
kayo anak
was a common method of
wooing a prospective bride. The most valuable heads were those belonging to women and
children because only the savviest and stealthiest warrior could ambush a child or woman
as they bathed or picked berries. Such heads were usually hidden away from marauders
near the longhouse hearth.
After a successful hunt, the warrior would wander the jungle, wrestling with the taken
spirit rather than letting down his guard for a nap. In the morning, he would return to his
longhouse where the head would be smoked and strung up for the others to see and hon-
our. Heads were worshipped and revered, and food offerings were not uncommon. A long-
house with many heads was feared and respected by the neighbouring clans.
The tradition began its gradual decline in
1841 when James Brooke, at the behest of
Brunei's sultan, started quashing the hunt for
heads, in part to attract foreign traders, who
had understandably tended to keep their dis-
tance from Borneo's shores. A nasty skirmish
involving a knife-wielding pirate and a
Chinese merchant's noodle gave Brooke the
Dayak slash-and-burn (swidden) agriculture is
sometimes blamed for deforestation and forest
fires, but in fact indigenous farmers are responsible
for only a minuscule fraction of the island's habitat
loss.
