The pagan tribes of Borneo - Get a Free Blog Here

X WAR 189
the Klemantans (the latter probably having imitated
the former in this), and does not occur among the
Kayans. The Kenyahs themselves preserve the
tradition of the origin of the taking of heads ; and
the suggestion is further borne out by the legend
of Tokong, which is widely known, but is probably
of Kenyah origin (see Chapter XVII.), according
to which the frog admonished a great Kenyah
chief that he should cease to take only the hair of
the fallen foe, but should take their heads also.
A second plausible view of the origin of headtaking
is that it arose out of the custom of slaying
slaves on the death of a chief, in order that they
might accompany and serve him on his journey to
the other world. We have pointed out several
reasons for believing that this practice was formerly
general, and that it has fallen into desuetude,
but is hardly yet quite extinct. It is obvious that
since the soul of the dead man is regarded as
hovering in the neighbourhood of the body for
some little time after its death, it would be felt that
the despatch of a companion soul was not a matter
of immediate urgency ; and considerations of
economy might well lead the mourners to prefer
capturing and killing members of some hostile
community to slaying one or more of their slaves,
highly valued and sometimes affectionately regarded
as they are. It would then be felt that the relatives
of the deceased should continue to display signs of
mourning until they should have discharged this
last duty to their departed friend. The next step
would be to supplant the practice of capturing a
member of a hostile community, and bringing him
home to be slain, by the simpler, less troublesome,
and more merciful one of slaying the enemy on the
field of combat and bringing home only his head.
In this way we may, with some plausibility, seek to
account for the origin of the practice of taking