HEAD-HUNTING AS A HOBBY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 276, 20 November 1926, Page 21

HEAD-HUNTING AS A HOBBY.

—. . t ■ The savage inhabitants of the Dutch island of Nias. off the coast of Sumatra, still practise head-hunting and decorate their homes with human skulls. Despite the efforts of missionaries and Government officials, says Dr. A. Ponsel, a returned explorer, they seize upon every excuse—the completion of a new house or a n<.w village, the death : of a chieftain, or some other person of ' importance—to indulge in gargantuan feasts, followed by expeditions in search of human heads, and culminating in wild dances, which continue through the , night. ; A head-hunters' party begins with a ' feast of pork and rice. The host pro- , vides no plates,, but compels his guests , to eat from a pig trough—a subtle in- j ference that if they return from the expedition without any heads hanging j on their belts they will be regarded : ( no better than pigs. Further, he ex- . pects them to take an oath to the effect j that if they fail to bring home some ] heads he may take theirs, and those of ( their women and children. ( When an important person dies the number of heads required to subdue his ■<. rpirit varies according to the rank and i power of tbe deceased. j