The notion of staying with a tribe who were the dominant 'headhunters' in Borneo may strike some as odd. However, my short stay with the 'Iban' was a fascinating and stimulating tour that I'll remember clearly for a long time. The Iban are the main tribal group in Sarawak, Malaysia. They were once renowned for being the most feared warriors, hunters, and 'headhunters' on the island of Borneo. The term 'headhunting' refers to the practice of killing an enemy and taking the head back to a 'longhouse', a large single-storey continuous house. The head would be smoked, worshipped and treated with a high level of reverence. The practice was forced into a decline by the British 'White Rajah', James Brooke in 1841. His intention was to ensure less violence between the various tribal groupings and encourage
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