The Native Head-Hunter
■Book 104 - A Plethora Of Scenic Splendours
■Written by GrandMaster Sheng-yen Lu
December 30, 1992, 7 o'clock in the evening, we flew to Sibu from Kuching.
The chapter head of Miao Li chapter-Sibu Mr Mao Qi Kui arranged for us to see a dance performed by the aborigines of Borneo. The musical instruments used by them are drums and Gongs. I noticed their dances had three features:
1. Steps taken during the dance.
2. Signs formed by hands and fingers.
3. Twisting of their bodies.
Like a fashion parade, every race showed its own traditional costumes. Although the movement was simple and the degree of difficulty was not great, the dances were lively and relaxed; and left on me a lasting impression. Based on the festival dates, the dances centred around:
1. New year
2. Harvest
3. Offering to gods
One of the dances performed was very unique. It depicted an Iban Hero head-hunting. Armed with knife and spear, he killed a stranger and cut his head off. He then sang and danced with his loot. A young Iban girl was very impressed by his heroism, and decided to marry him.
Mao Qi Kui told me:
Amongst the aborigines of Borneo, there are many head-hunters who believe that,
1. The head of a stranger can be used as a foundation for a new bridge, this is to ensure that the bridge will be firm, guarded and will be not ruined.
2. By hanging as many strangers' heads as possible outside one's house, one's ancestors will be honoured. Head-hunting is therefore sacred and most respectable.
3. By offering stranger's head to the god as sacrifice, the god will be happy and the weather will be favourable.
4. A male will hang the heads he hunted on his neck to show his prowess so that he can attract beautiful woman to marry him. A female would like to marry a man who has hunted many heads.
Mao Qi Kui also told me:
The early immigrants of Borneo had to risk their lives. They may not return safely. Once, all the heads of people in an entire village were hunted by head-hunters.
On hearing this, I used my hand to feel whether my head is still intact.
My view on head-hunting is as follows:
Human nature and animals' killer instincts are more or less identical. Long time ago, when civilisation had not appeared, the world was full of darkness everywhere. Human beings were barbaric. “The law of evolution”, and “the fittest survives” were the order of the early human history.
Human beings enjoyed seeing others' defeats. They attacked their enemies with deep-rooted hatred. Killing others is a victory; and cutting their heads a symbol of success. They killed a person whom they did not know with arrows, knives and spears cold-bloodedly. This is a strange psychology.
They enjoy their own laughter and do not care about others' woes.
The stranger deserves to be killed; it is not sinister, just a reflection of human nature. They subscribe to a purely imaginary myth and do not have any guilt with regards to cold-blooded murder. As a result, slaughtering was allowed to be carried out, many headless corpses, heads splashed with fresh blood were left to accompany the cold howling wind.
Did the killer have such a deep hatred towards his victim this life? The answer is definitely no. There are many kinds of people in this world, male and female, young and old, living in different parts of the world and following different customs. And accordingly they use different killing methods. If you happen to meet one of them, you will be killed.
To an aborigine who meets a stranger, his only thought is “It is fate, I can't do a damn.” Although he is poor, he will be well respected, and be admired by many young girls as he has hunted many heads. He has to sharpen his knife, his spear and be good with his bow and arrows. He must be strong enough to protect his woman, so that she can smile and enjoy a good night's sleep. If he is too weak, he will be killed. If he is too kind, he will also be killed. He is fated not to resist any violence.
My only regret is:
Although the society has changed, barbarism is replaced by civilisation, the ways of life and the customs are still varied - the killing methods have taken on different forms. I wonder if the strive for supremacy of human race has been annihilated from this world, or simply assumes another form in order to survive.
