75
HILLTRIBESAND
HEADHUNTERS
In1988wehadboardeda tiny
propellerplane toMaeHongSon
innorth-westernThailand.We
stayed inasmall resort thatwasno
more thanacollectionofwooden
bungalowsonariverbank.Weswam
in theriverwith local childrenand
rodeelephants into thedense jungle
forest.A two-hour journeybrought
us toaKayanhill-tribevillagewhere
thewomenworebrassringsaround
theirnecks.
The followingyear foundus in
MalaysianBorneo. Itwasostensibly
abeachholiday, butourvisit toan
oldheadhuntervillage is theonly
thing that lefta lasting impression.
By the late1980s, the IbanDayakhad
not routinelyscalped theirenemies
inover100years, yet themain
longhouse’sreceptionhallwasstill
decoratedwithweaponsandskulls
asasymbolof thechief’shighsocial
status.When IvisitedSabah in2011,
I foundmodernconcretecitiesand
power linesbutnoghosts.
FIRSTPERSON
Above: Ina “long-
neck” village inMae
HongSon,Thailand,
in 1988; (right) the
journey to thevillage
took twohourson the
backof anelephant
“... themain longhouse’s
receptionhallwasstill
decoratedwithweapons
andskullsasasymbol
ofthechief’shighsocial
status”
