Headhunting is the act of killing a person and taking their head as a trophy. Sometimes, other body parts like ears, noses, or scalps are taken instead because they are easier to carry. Many cultures around the world have practiced headhunting throughout history.

Anthropologists, who study human cultures, have researched headhunting to understand its purpose and meaning. Their studies show that headhunting was linked to rituals, showing strength, honoring traditions, and maintaining balance in beliefs. It was also connected to showing bravery, gaining power from enemies, and using the head as proof of a successful hunt. Some believed the head held a person’s life force, which could be used for spiritual or practical reasons.

Modern scholars agree that headhunting was mainly used in religious or ceremonial ways. It helped establish and protect social structures between groups and individuals. Some experts think the practice came from the belief that the head contained a person’s soul or energy, which could be captured and used for spiritual purposes.

Austronesia

Head-hunting raids among Austronesian peoples were closely connected to tattooing. In these societies, tattoos showed how many enemies a warrior had defeated in battle. Tattoos were also part of ceremonies that marked the transition to adulthood. The number and placement of tattoos showed a warrior’s rank and bravery.

In Southeast Asia, studies by anthropologists have examined head-hunting practices among groups like the Murut, Kadazan, Dusun, Iban, Berawan, Wana, and Mappurondo tribes. For these groups, head-hunting was often a ritual, not a war or feud. A warrior would take one enemy’s head. This act helped end mourning for the dead in the community. Head-hunting was linked to ideas of manhood and marriage, and the heads were highly valued. Other reasons for head-hunting included capturing enemies as slaves, stealing valuable items, settling conflicts, and expanding territory.

In 1886, Italian explorer Elio Modigliani studied the head-hunting practices of the people on the island of Nias, near Sumatra. He found that the main reason for head-hunting was the belief that owning a skull meant the victim would be a slave for eternity in the afterlife. Skulls were considered valuable. Head-hunting in Nias continued until the late 20th century, with the last known incident in 1998.

The Sumba people practiced head-hunting until the early 20th century. It occurred only in large war groups. When hunting animals, they moved quietly and secretly. Skulls collected were hung on trees in the center of villages.

Kenneth George wrote about the Mappurondo people in Sulawesi, who used coconuts instead of real heads in a ritual called pangngae. This ceremony happened after the rice harvest and ended mourning for the dead. It also showed strength, expressed cultural tensions, shared resources, and protected their traditions.

In Sarawak, part of Borneo, James Brooke and his family ruled for over a century. They stopped head-hunting before World War II. Before Brooke’s arrival, the Iban people had moved into new areas by fighting other tribes. Brooke met the Iban during a battle in 1849 and made a treaty with their leader. His family later expanded their control and banned head-hunting. However, they allowed head-hunting during approved military actions. Some Iban resisted Brooke’s rule, like Libau “Rentap,” who fought three battles before being defeated.

The Iban moved again to new areas, pushing out other tribes. Brooke’s government supported these moves and reduced conflicts. They held special rituals, like the Bird Festival and Proper Festival, to prepare warriors for battle.

During World War II, head-hunting returned in British Borneo. Later, during conflicts in Sarawak and Malaya, the Iban were known for head-hunting and were later recognized for their skills in tracking and fighting.

In 1997, violence broke out in Indonesian Kalimantan between the Dayak people and Madurese migrants. Some Dayak rituals, like decapitating enemies, reminded people of old head-hunting traditions.

The Moluccans, especially the Alfurs in Seram, were head-hunters until the Dutch banned the practice.

Many Austronesian groups in Southeast Asia and the Pacific practiced head-hunting. In Melanesia, including New Guinea, head-hunting was common. A missionary found 10,000 skulls in a longhouse on Goaribari Island in 1901.

The Marind-anim in New Guinea were known for head-hunting. They believed a person’s skull held spiritual power. Head-hunting was not mainly about eating the dead, but the body was used in ceremonies.

The Korowai, a tribe in Irian Jaya, live in tall tree houses. This was thought to protect them from nearby head-hunting tribes. Some believe Michael Rockefeller, who disappeared in New Guinea in 1961, may have been taken by head-hunters in the Asmat region.

Mainland Asia

During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, soldiers from the Qin state often collected the heads of defeated enemies to gain recognition and rewards. After Shang Yang's reforms, Qin armies used a system where soldiers, many of whom were forced laborers, could earn promotions and rewards by collecting enemy heads, a way to count their achievements. Authorities also displayed the heads of criminals who were executed in public places until the early 20th century.

The Wa people, an ethnic group living in Southwest China, eastern Myanmar (Shan State), and northern Thailand, were called "Wild Wa" by British colonists because of their traditional practice of taking enemy heads.

Headhunting was practiced by several ethnic groups in India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, including the Kukis, Mizo, and Chin (together called the Zo people), the Wa, the Garo, and the Naga, until the 19th century. In eastern Afghanistan, Nuristanis also practiced headhunting until the late 19th century.

Mizo warriors often used secret attacks and ambushes to surprise their enemies. This led to beliefs about the best times to conduct raids. Before a raid, warriors would look at the stars and the moon. If a star appeared to the right of the crescent moon, it was believed to mean "the moon is brandishing a knife," which was a bad sign for a raid. If the star appeared to the left of the moon, it was seen as "the moon is carrying a head," a good sign for a raid. Another belief involved the minivet bird. If the bird flew away from the village during a raid, it was seen as a sign of success. If the bird flew toward the village while making loud noises, the group would return home.

During raids, some men would go to attack enemies while others stayed to protect the village. After killing enemies, warriors would step on the bodies, shout the victims' names three times, and sing a battle song called Bawhhla. This was believed to make the dead enemies become the warriors' slaves in the afterlife. By singing and shouting, the slaves would recognize their masters. After this, the enemies were decapitated. If the journey home was too long, warriors would take the scalps instead of the heads as proof of their victory.

When returning to the village, it was not allowed to bring heads into the village during the day. The warriors would wait outside until after dinner and the time when young men and women met. Then, they would enter the village and announce their return with gunshots and battle songs. Village girls would make special decorations called Arkeziak from white cotton and tie them around the warriors' heads, necks, wrists, ankles, or arms. Other villagers avoided meeting the returning warriors out of tradition, while the celebration continued with songs and gunshots.

The next morning, women would tie the Arkeziak made the night before. The village chief and upas (spirit leaders) would give warriors necklaces made of amber and precious stones. Even warriors who did not bring back heads or scalps could still be treated equally if they helped others collect trophies, though they would receive fewer rewards. Spoils of war, such as guns, gongs, spears, and knives, would be given to warriors' families through small payments. It was not allowed to ask for or accept trophies as gifts.

The heads were stored in the Thirdengsa, which was the blacksmith's forge. After breakfast, a ceremony took place. The heads were taken from the forge, and each warrior carried the head they had collected. They gathered in front of the chief's house in the village square. A small table was set up for the heads. A broken piece of pottery with stale rice was placed nearby. A ritual dance was performed, and young women joined in.

Warriors surrounded the table for another part of the ceremony. The leader of the group would take a boiled egg, eat half, and sprinkle the other half into the rice in the broken pot. A spell was spoken to curse the heads on the table. A battle song was sung, and a gun was fired three times. Music and songs followed. Warriors would mock the heads during this time. Guns were loaded with gunpowder but no bullets, and they were fired at the heads. Then, a pot of zu (a traditional drink) was placed in the village square. A mithun (a type of bovine) was killed and offered to the warriors. A feast was held, and zu was served.

After the ceremony, the heads were attached to freshly cut poles and placed on the west side of the village in the lungdawh (cemetery). Some heads were hung at the village entrance. Trees with enemy heads hanging were called Sah-lam. It was also believed that a headhunter should sacrifice a mithun or pig under a tree to avoid the spirit of the head causing madness.

The Wa people, who live near the border of Burma and China, were called "Wild Wa" by Europeans because of their behavior, which was seen as harsh or brutal. Until the 1970s, the Wa practiced headhunting.

Americas

Several groups of people from the Jivaroan family, such as the Shuar in eastern Ecuador and northern Peru, lived near rivers like Chinchipe, Bobonaza, Morona, Upano, and Pastaza. These rivers flow into the Amazon. These groups practiced headhunting, taking heads as trophies. They shrunk the heads and called them Tzan-Tzas. They believed the head contained the soul of the person who was killed.

Today, the Shuar make replica Tzan-Tzas using their traditional methods. They use the heads of monkeys and sloths instead of humans and sell them to tourists. Some smaller groups within the tribes still perform these practices during conflicts over land or as punishment for serious crimes.

The Kichwa-Lamista people in Peru were also known for headhunting in the past.

A tzompantli is a wooden structure or fence found in many ancient Mesoamerican cultures. It was used to display human skulls, often from prisoners of war or people sacrificed in religious ceremonies.

Archaeologists found a tzompantli-like structure at the La Coyotera site in Oaxaca, Mexico. This structure dates to the Proto-Classic Zapotec civilization, which existed from about 200 BCE to 300 CE. Similar tzompantli structures were also used by other Mesoamerican cultures, such as the Toltec and Mixtec.

Based on records from Spanish explorers Andrés de Tapia and Fray Diego Durán, historian Bernard Ortiz de Montellano estimated in the late 20th century that the Hueyi Tzompantli (Great Skullrack) in Tenochtitlan held no more than 60,000 skulls. There were at least five other smaller skullracks in Tenochtitlan.

Examples of tzompantli-like structures have also been found in Maya civilization sites. One well-preserved example is located at the large Chichen Itza site.

The Nazca people, who lived in what is now Peru, used severed heads, called trophy heads, in religious rituals. Art from the Late Nazca period suggests that leaders gained status by successfully capturing enemies and taking their heads.

Europe

The Celts of Europe practiced headhunting because they believed the head contained a person's soul. Ancient Romans and Greeks wrote about Celts who nailed the heads of their enemies to walls or hung them from horses. The Celtic Gaels continued this practice for a long time. In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, a half-human, half-god figure named Cúchulainn cut off the heads of three men and placed them on his chariot. This was likely a tradition for warriors, not a religious act. The practice lasted until the end of the Middle Ages among Irish groups and even later among the Border Reivers of the Anglo-Scottish border. After the Celts converted to Christianity, the religious reasons for headhunting were probably forgotten, though the practice continued. In areas where Celts lived, images of saints shown carrying their severed heads were common. Other groups, such as Germanic tribes and Iberians, also took heads, but the reason for this is unknown.

The Montenegrins are an ethnic group in Southeastern Europe who live near the Dinaric Mountains and are closely related to the Serbs. They practiced headhunting until 1876, keeping a special lock of hair for this purpose. In the 1830s, a Montenegrin ruler named Petar II Petrović-Njegoš began building a tower called "Tablja" above Cetinje Monastery. The tower was never completed, and Montenegrins used it to display the heads of Turkish enemies they captured during battles with the Ottoman Empire. In 1876, King Nicholas I of Montenegro ordered an end to the practice because European diplomats saw it as cruel. The Tablja was destroyed in 1937.

The Scythians were skilled horse riders. An ancient Greek historian named Herodotus wrote that some Scythian tribes performed human sacrifices, drank the blood of victims, removed the hair from enemies' heads, and drank wine from enemies' skulls.

Modern times

During World War II, some Japanese soldiers cut off the heads of Chinese soldiers and civilians. They held contests to see who could kill the most people, and they took pictures with the piles of heads as trophies.

At the same time, Allied troops, including American soldiers, sometimes collected the skulls of dead Japanese soldiers as personal trophies, gifts for friends and family, or for sale. This practice was only common in the Pacific area, not in Europe. In 1942, the leader of the Pacific Fleet ordered strict punishment for soldiers who took enemy body parts as trophies. However, the practice continued. In 1944, a magazine called Life published a photo of a young woman holding a skull sent to her by her Navy boyfriend. This caused anger in the United States.

Historians believe that some Americans saw the Japanese as less important, and this behavior was also a reaction to Japanese soldiers torturing American soldiers. In Borneo, local people called the Dayak formed a group to fight against the Japanese after suffering from Japanese attacks. Australian and British soldiers helped train these Dayak people into an army of about 1,000 fighters. This group killed or captured around 1,500 Japanese soldiers.

During the Malayan Emergency (1948–1960), British and Commonwealth forces used Iban (Dayak) headhunters from Borneo to fight against suspected guerrillas in Malaysia. These fighters were allowed to keep the scalps of captured enemies as trophies. However, British officials privately said that taking enemy heads during wartime would be considered a crime under international law. Later, a piece of a skull from a trophy was found in a British military museum.

In April 1952, a British newspaper called the Daily Worker (now called the Morning Star) published a photo of Royal Marines in Malaysia holding severed human heads. British government officials at first said the photo was fake. However, the newspaper later shared another photo showing other soldiers with a head. This forced a British official to admit the photos were real. In response, Winston Churchill banned headhunting, fearing the images would be used by communist groups for propaganda.

Although the photos of soldiers with severed heads were shocking, only the Daily Worker published them in the 20th century. Most British newspapers ignored the issue.

European countries also collected heads during the 1800s, when they controlled many parts of the world. They claimed these actions were part of scientific studies. English, French, and German colonists often took the heads of local leaders or people who resisted them and kept them as trophies.

Interpretations of Headhunting

Headhunting draws attention from cultures that do not practice it. Early Western observers often saw it as forbidden, believing the practice showed violent actions. Because of misunderstandings by colonial Euro-American cultures, it led to unfair treatment. People thought the cultures that practiced headhunting lived in a simple, early stage of life. Believing that cultures that did headhunting later in history were violent, Western colonizers tried to force religious changes. Different views about nature caused a separation between those who practiced the rituals and those who watched from the outside.

Cultural Impact

Headhunting is shown in many types of artwork from different cultures. Artists have created sculptures, carvings, tattoos, and ceremonial masks that show trophy heads. Each culture uses different art styles to represent their headhunting traditions. These artworks often carry strong cultural and symbolic meanings, and they are made using various materials like wood, skin, and fabric. Clothing and dance are also used to show pride, sometimes including the display of severed heads. Masks worn during dances often represented social rank, power, and pride connected to headhunting.

• An Iban headhunter wearing a Royal Marine beret places a human scalp above a basket of human body parts.
• An Iban headhunter holds a human scalp.
• The Daily Worker reported on headhunting practices by British troops in Malaya on April 28, 1952.
• Commonwealth soldiers display a severed head inside a British military base in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency.
• Two dead bodies and a severed head from guerrillas killed by the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment.
• Photos showing headhunting and other violent acts from the archives of the Working Class Movement Library in Manchester.
• The severed head of MNLA guerrilla leader Hen Yan, killed in 1952 by the Suffolk Regiment.
• Photos of a decapitated MNLA member stored in the archives of the National Army Museum in London.
• An anti-war leaflet from 1952 protesting British headhunting in Malaya.

During the Vietnam War, some American soldiers collected "trophy skulls."

Gallery

• Head trophy, Munduruku people, northern Brazil, around 1820
• Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, leader of the Dahomey Amazons, holding a severed head
• An Ifugao warrior with some of his trophies, Philippines, 1912
• Dayak women dancing with human heads, 1912
• The Dayak longhouse
• Japanese samurai holding a severed head
• Severed heads of bandits, Tieling, Manchuria, in 1928, during the government of Zhang Xueliang