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Ilongot Headhunting is a ritual practice belonging to the Ilongot tribe who live on Luzon Island in the Philippines. Ilongot headhunting is the act of beheading a victim and throwing the head for the purpose of metaphorically relieving oneself of a burden. Headhunting is a practice deeply routed in the Ilongot society. It also plays a significant role in the Ilongot male life cycle, and is a big aspect in the gender roles for Ilongot males.

Headhunting Raid

Ilongot Reasons for Headhunting

The Ilongot men headhunt as a way to relieve themselves of a burden such as a death in the family, a grudge, etc. They also headhunt for the purpose of not being a “novice” or siap anymore. An Ilongot male is no longer a novice at headhunting once he has taken a victim’s head and thrown it. If a male in a bertan (large Ilongot group) is weighed down by a burden in his life, or a novice desperately wants to throw a head, a raid is arranged by an adult male. He gathers all the men that wish to go on a headhunt together and schedule a time and place for the headhunting raid.

Ritual Before the Raid

Once a raid has been organized, the Ilongot men will meet the day before the scheduled raid at high noon in front of the raid organizer’s house. The men then place a woven bamboo basket filled with sugar cane, betel nut and sweet potato on the ground as a food offering to a spirit that the men call from the forest. As the basket is set on the ground a man chants the words, “Now you, eye of the sun; there now, you are on high”. The Ilongot male’s voice then shifts to a higher pitch and he performs a series of clucks and tweets the Ilongot liken to the sounds of a bird to lure the victims’ “hearts.” The chanting Ilongot male’s voice then drops down to a deeper pitch once the men feel the presence of the victims’ hearts, which are invisible yet powerful according to Ilongot belief. The Ilongot believe that the hearts hover over the raiders and then rest on the upper lobes of some of the males’ ears. Then an Ilongot man of knowledge (a man that is designated to feel the presence of the victims’ hearts) takes the hearts resting on the males’ ears and places them in the bamboo basket. The Ilongot males with hearts perched on their ears shows that they will behead a victim in the upcoming raid. If a male did not have a heart on his ear, then it is foretold that he will not behead a victim on the raid. Once the hearts are inside the basket, the Ilongot males encircle it with their bolo knives. Then the man of knowledge will look to see if any of the Ilongot men are destined to be injured or wounded on the raid. If everything looks favorable according to the Ilongot man of knowledge, then the men will leave their homes the next day.

Beginning the Journey of a Raid

Ilongot men leave for the raid in the morning, accompanied by women carrying rice and singing farewell. The Ilongot women accompany the men to the boundaries just outside their villages. Both the men and the women stop here to cook the rice brought by the women and to fish. Most of the cooked rice is put into bamboo tubes for the men to eat later, as they find victims to raid. The Ilongot men do this to prevent giving their position away as they search for victims by a cooking fire. The Ilongot then have a farewell feast where the leftover rice and fish are eaten. After the feast, each Ilongot woman gives a present of tied betel quid to their husband, lover, brother, cousin, etc. for them to eat right before the attack. Then the men leave on their journey and the women sing goodbye.

The Raid

Ilongot men may travel great distances away from their homes to find victims or to avoid detection from possible victims. Generally, the men become very hungry as the journey progresses, causing them to act bitter and frustrated towards each other. Once victims or their traces are found, the Ilongot will designate scouts to set up an ambush. If the ambush is planned well and the Ilongot feel it will be a success, the men will chew on the betel quid the women gave them. The Ilongot believe that the quid inspires the men with strength and speed because of the women’s beauty and love. The men then wait in their positions until the victims come. Once the victims are in the right spot, the Ilongot males begin their ambush. Once all the victims are decapitated, the raiders quickly run away from the scene, singing songs of celebration.

Weaponry Used

While on raids, Ilongot men use sharp machete-like weapons called bolos to decapitate their victims. They also use bows and arrows to shoot down and injure their victims.

Warnings to Novices

The adult Ilongot men warn the novices on a raid to be careful with their weapons, lest they accidentally harm another Ilongot accidentally. The Ilongot adults warn the novices not to play fight with each other, or they might cut each other with their bolos. Often the novices are so excited about the raid that, in their enthusiasm, they injure another male belonging to their tribe.

Clothing on a Raid

Ilongot males distinguish themselves on a raid by wearing g-strings around their groin and no other clothing. Around their hair they wear a white kerchief set in their bun if they are a novice, or a feather headdress if they are not. This sets them apart from their victims, which ensures that an Ilongot man will not accidentally attack another Ilongot man.

Journey Back Home

As the Ilongot men see their village nearing after a raid, they will shout “a’ee’u’u” to indicate that they have been successful by taking a head. Their people come to greet them and ask if everyone is alive and healthy. The raiders then return back to the raid organizer’s home and are welcomed by women singing. The Ilongot gongs are played which begins a celebration of song and dance. The celebration continues into the early hours of the morning.

Throwing a Head

The Ritual

Once the Ilongot men have had a successful raid, the ritual of “throwing” a head begins. This is where the heads severed on the raid are distributed among the Ilongot males so they can “throw” a head. Typically, the novices are given first priority because they have not had the chance before to throw a head. In the Ilongot culture, it does not matter who actually severed the head, it matters who throws it. More often than not, a novice will not have beheaded a man during the raid. It is usually the adult males who decapitate the victims and then give their heads to the novices. After the heads have been distributed among the Ilongot, the men throw the heads as far as they can. This is to signify relieving themselves of a burden or to change from a novice to a man. An Ilongot man that had a burden then feels cleansed, lighter in weight and faster in step. The novice feels like a man and now has the privileges of one who has thrown a head. Elderly Ilongot men that have thrown a head discard the weight of old age and are renewed in youth.

Rules

Ilongots do no have many rules for the process of throwing a head, but the rules they do have are very significant and must be abided by. The order of which heads are distributed between the Ilongot males who just performed a raid is essential to the process of throwing heads. Usually, the Ilongot who requested the raid has first priority in the head distribution, whether he be a novice or a man who needed to remove himself of a burden. Thus, that man will typically get the first head to ensure that his request has been met. Then the novices in the group have second priority for heads. If there are still heads left, they will go to the men who are no longer novices, but who may have a burden they wish to expel from their lives. The second rule for the head throwing process is that each Ilongot male can only take one head after a raid. To take more than one is considered unnecessary and greedy in the Ilongot culture.

Importance of Throwing a Head

Headhunting is very important to the Ilongot because it allows men certain rights and privileges. For example, men are given the right to wear special red hornbill earrings coveted by novices. Once an Ilongot male has taken and thrown his first head, he is also allowed to answer back to taunts by other men. Ilongot males like to taunt and tease each other, and when a male that has changed from a novice to a man gets taunted, he is given the right to taunt back. It is also important for a male to headhunt because it will help him get married. Ilongot women find males more desirable once they have taken a head, thus it increases the male’s likelihood to get if he has taken a head. If a novice marries, he is mocked and taunted more than any other person within the bertan (Ilongot group). Other Ilongot males tease him saying that he wishes to behead his wife so that he can throw a head. Married Ilongot novices are subject to the most scorn. Thus, it is typical for an Ilongot male to throw a head before he gets married in order to avoid mockery.

Signs of No Longer Being a Novice

Once an Ilongot male has taken a head, he gains the right to wear red hornbill earrings that dangle from his upper lobe in order to distinguish himself as a man. Ilongot males prefer to wear these earrings because the women see them as more attractive when they do. In addition, Ilongot males are allowed to wear feathered headdresses on headhunting raids instead of a white kerchief once they have thrown their first a head.

Social Importance of Headhunting

Headhunting and Gender Roles

Only Ilongot males headhunt, thus the practice distinguishes males from females. Ilongot men and women are relatively equal in all other practices of their lives, however, through headhunting “men could achieve a form of transcendence not available to women." Ilongot men have the power to headhunt in order to relieve a burden or shake off the title of a novice, so are considered slightly superior to women in the Ilongot culture.

Ilongot Male Life Cycle

Ilongots consider a male’s life cycle as a continuous, progressive and gradual process rather than a process consisting of specific and distinct stages. The Ilongot males have two definitive rites of passage, marriage and headhunting. They divide a male’s life cycle into four, broad, gradual stages that overlap with each other: childhood, youth, adulthood and old age.

Childhood

To the Ilongot, a male’s childhood is thought of as a progressive mastery of his motor skills, both in speech and movement. The Ilongot believe that children are without thought until they have uttered their first word, and that all of their source of knowledge comes from their parents. The Ilongot boys learn to perform certain tasks by doing the bidding of their parents such as fetching something within the house. Boys begin to follow their fathers as they grow older to learn gender-specific skills and ultimately how to headhunt.

Youth

Childhood eventually and discretely evolves into youth. This stage of an Ilongot male’s life is considered his prime of life because of his agility, freedom of movement (meaning he is not married) and his physical beauty. To accentuate their attractive physical appearance, Ilongot youth adorn themselves in bright red kerchiefs, belts, necklaces, earrings and metal armbands. Ilongot also believe that youth is the most stressful part of a Ilongot male’s life. This is the phase of life where Ilongot males undergo specific rites of passage in order to become a man and enter adulthood, namely headhunting and marriage. Youth males often grow anxious to “arrive” and take a head, thus are considered dramatic and volatile. Ilongot males in their youth stage sometimes feel envy towards their elders because they are allowed to wear the special red hornbill earrings. Once a youth has taken a head, he is considered a man and now makes his way towards his adult life, but has not reached adulthood yet. Ilongot male adulthood comes specifically through marriage.

Adulthood

Ilongot male adulthood is considered by the Ilongot to be the time of highest productivity and influence in a man’s life. Once a Ilongot male has been married and experienced sexual intercourse with his wife, he is in the adult phase of his life. If a man is still a novice to headhunting at this point, he is subject to high amounts of mockery by the other Ilongot men. Thus, typically when Ilongot men get married, they have already thrown a head and are no longer a novice. Once married, the man moves out of his family’s house into the household of his wife’s parents. There he dwells for many years until his wife‘s younger sisters marry. Then they are allowed to move out of his in-law’s house to raise their own family, yet continue to live close by. As his wife’s parents grow old and feeble, the Ilongot man becomes the leader of the home, while his own daughters and their husbands follow and obey him. During adulthood, Ilongot men are given the right to lead and organize raids. They are also allowed to go on raids to rid themselves of a certain burden such as anger from a quarrel. Ilongot adult males are typically the best at headhunting, thus usually are the first ones to reach the victims and sever the heads.

Old Age

Old age is thought of as the slow decline of energy from an Ilongot man’s youth and the decrease of his power of adulthood. Unlike many other cultures and societies, the Ilongot do not value the elderly as people of great wisdom. However, the Ilongot cherish their old men as providers/creators of the present generations of people. Ilongot men in old age are allowed to go on headhunts, but often do not because they feel it is a very physically involved and strenuous expedition.

Violence of Headhunting Between Different Groups of Ilongot

In 1919, Ilongot men began practicing headhunting among different bertan (a small to large group of Ilongot peoples), causing a lot of contention and violence between Ilongot groups. During that year up till 1923, Ilongot males began headhunting others within their own bertans as well. Many Ilongot bertans became enemies at this time. In 1923, Filipino army troops entered the Ilongot country, led by a number of men from an Ilongot bertan seeking revenge on past grudges for previous headhunting. The troops destroyed a great amount of the Ilongot homes and crops and arrested many men. After being released from jail, one of the men arrested at that time organized a raid against the bertan responsible for bringing the troops. In the raid, the Ilongot beheaded many of the Ilongot men belonging to that bertan. In 1928, to retaliate against the raid once more, the bertan led troops in again into the Ilongot interior. They again arrested many Ilongot men and ruined many homes. Violence between Ilongot bertans eventually stopped because of the banning of headhunting.

Banning of Headhunting

Headhunting is banned as a practice everywhere around the world. Even though it is not allowed and tribes do not practice it anymore, headhunting still remains a principle part of many tribal societies, especially the Ilongot. The laws banning headhunting were enforced on the Ilongot in the 1930’s by the United States.

References

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