Head-Hunters about Themselves

Front matter

Dedicated to the Memory of the late Monsignor H. Tillemans, Archbishop of Merauke

VERHANDELINGEN

VAN HET KONINKLIJK INSTITUUT VOOR TAAL-, LAND- EN VOLKENKUNDE

Author's Preface

Every book has its own personal story and my book on the Jaqaj people is no exception. I collected my initial data at the time when the Dutch government was responsible for what is now Irian Jaya, a province of Indonesia. At the time that I worked in the field and gathered my information, I enjoyed the enduring interest and support of the late Mgr. H. Tillemans, m.s.c., archbishop of Merauke. I wish to dedicate this book to his memory.

A first summary of my studies, written in Dutch, appeared in 1958 under the title Papoea's aan de Mappi. Further research in the area persuaded me that some of my previous views needed correction and that publication of more data was necessary as well. In 1969 I finished the Dutch draft of the present book. For its translation I was very fortunate to have help of my colleague Mr. M. van Dijck. It appeared that the text was too long and had to be reduced to better, workable proportions. That was my homework for the following years. The final draft was corrected by my friend Dr. W. Beek, former teacher of English at several colleges, and finally retyped by Father A. Bodden, m.s.c. I owe all of these people my sincere thanks for the many hours spent on this work.

Thanks are also due to those who, in the various phases of the preparation of this publication, gave their comments and suggestions, especially Dr. J. van Baal, now emeritus professor of Anthropology of the Utrecht State University.

I sincerely hope that the present work, apart from being a contribution to the body of anthropological information generally, will be of some use to the missionaries and the government agencies working in the Jaqaj area. My Jaqaj friends, if any of them were able to read this book, would hardly be expected to rejoice in the recollections of their past. Their eyes are on the future. All I wish for them is that part of the old strength and energy of their ancestors will stay with them. They will need it on the difficult road to a new way of life.

J. B.

Table Of Contents

Author's Preface List of Maps .

Foreword by Professor J. van Baal .

Introduction .

PART I. SOCIAL FRAMEWORK Ch. I. Territorial Organization . 1. Territories

2. Imu

3. Sub-groups: qari 4. Landholding rights . 5. Land using rights .

Ch. II. Kinship and Marriage

1. Kinship terminology

2. Marriage regulations . ; Incest and marriage brdhibitions a. b. Marriage opportunities c. Marriage arrangements d. Divorce e. Polygyny.

3. Other relationships .

kaki.

Ch. III. The Settlement and Daily Pursuits . 1. The settlement Men's houses; women's lioüses: paier a setting:

Adoption; ménaqaé; as: naróm; —À ЕТ

12 12 14 17 21 27

51 51 52 52 53 54 39 41 43

47 47

VIII Head-hunters about themselves

2. Daily pursuits Hunting; fishing; Са sandening: breeding: social contacts; forms of authority: poqoj-radé or leader, akiaq-radé or adviser/counsellor, joqbera-radé or spirit intermediary /seer.

Part II. The Life Cycle

Ch. IV. Pregnancy and Birth, Body and Soul .

1. Pregnancy and birth The monthly period; pregnancy; conce oi he ists: food arrangements; twins; sterility; abortion; delivery; the afterbirth; care of mother and child.

2. Body and soul

Ch. V. Youth

1. Infancy | Breast-feeding; name giving; bx care; walking dud talking.

2. Childhood and coming of age In the house; in the settlement; sidosphisie of fitting’ children’s play; accompanying parents; boys; orphans; entry into the men’s house; homosexuality; piercing of the ear lobes; grown-up boys.

Ch. VI. Marriage

1. Boys and girls

2. Ideal male and ideal aie.

3. Initial contacts . b x À Usual courtship; сиса songs; Hes сна terminology tom, Ko bis cases.

4. Sanctions

5. The marriage ceremony

Ch. VII. Married Life .

1. Akiaq and the newly-wed . P x For the husband; for the wife; for boit РЫР nr course; use of abusive language; suspicions; a pre-contact case.

2. Relationships within the nuclear —

3. Aspects of social contacts . ; Liberality and hospitality; singing; dance: Кане story-telling; abusive language.

61 61

73 75

87 87 88 91

97 98

100 100

104 106

Table of contents

Ch. VIII. Illness and Death . 1. Jaqaj notions concerning disease and its ——Ó 2. Old age and other causes of death .

Omens; medicines to kill others. 3. Death .

4, Mourning

Treatment of corpses; mourning dress abstinent:

dirges.

PART III. HEAD-HUNTING PRACTICES Ch. IX. Historical Data 1. Intra-tribal warfare The war of Képi versus Moin.

2. Extra-tribal warfare

a. Exact data

b. The case of Торора

c. Other data .

Ch. X. Training, Motivation and Preparation

1. Training Play of the hove faao of the adults: diver practice.

2. Motivation : : Tambi-ér; jamé-ér; head iine: magan: èr.

3. Preparations for a raid

Time; weapons; decorations; incitements; СЕЕ war canoes; mock raids; decision making; provisions;

departure.

Ch. XI. The Raid .

Atmosphere; scouting expedition; choice of participants by the joqbera-radé; attack; return to the bivouacs; beating the sides of the canoes; heads and souls; ménaqaé and nakaéri; cannibalism; return to the settlements; head tree?

Ch. XII. Festivities Following the Head-Hunting Raid 1. Roor Ndat-jamé, the termination of mourning .

Removal of trestles and mourning dress; piercing of the ear lobes.

Moké-idóm; abode Br ihe deceased) ‘wailing and 2

125 125

134 134 136 144

145 145

170 170

X Head-hunters about themselves

2. Taw-jamé, the wedding-feast I Account of heroic deeds, general кана

3. Batik-jamé, the pig feast .

Kinds of insignia; pressure of dre ante! electio of the pigs; gathering of materials; sago grubs; okom.

4. Taker-jamé, the age ceremony . A S аво Special feasting grounds?; decorating of children; cutting hair; advice; daggers; fibre skirts; killing of pigs.

5. Presentation of the marks of honour . TIPP The presentation; kuj-wir; young men; great procession; ornithomancy; appeal to the sun; return of guests; challenge to enemies.

6. Raép-jamé, the jaw feast .

PART IV. STORIES AND MYTHS Ch. XIII. The Origin of Things

1. The journey of Tomoónringgaqaé, the tidal wave

2. Mato, the earthquake .

3. Baqaróm and the ground spirits . 4. Metéoqom and the fish, Qaqap, Mapur, азер | 5. Mopón makes the moon . па EA wn de uox

6. The sun and the moon

7. The sun casts down its skin .

8. The mother of Bakui .

9. The journey of Ujndóm

10. Aqamé |

Ch. XIV. Life of Mankind ;

1. The journey of Ajré, the entry of the SH axe .

2. Ujnaki, the good husband and the bad husband

3. Taémenu, a woman in search of a husband .

4. Jaqandi, the discovery of the real woman

5. Jaboq and Timon, the first fight

6. Janggeron and Daw, the deceiver is deceived

7. Joqoj, the punishment of a murderer .

8. Makubonók and Nduménd, theft revenged .

Ch. XV. Spirits and Shades . 1. Rakao, the spirits win 2. Awaq, the jaqar loses .

239 239 240

Table of contents

E LE E E sh

The jagar . . . .

Mioqop and the aburit The aburit У“ Okomit and the shades The shades and the boys .

Shades appearing as birds Ujoqot, the falling star

HII.

IV. Division of work

Names ot the groups .

Bakui - in - wu .

Recurrent Jaqaj terms

Illustrations and Maps

XI

232 252 257

267 267 270 271 272

286 288 292 294

LIST OF MAPS

. The Jaqaj Area. . Area of Képi.

. The Fights of Képi.

. The Raid on Togompatu.

. The Journey of Ajré.

Foreword

The author of the present book, Dr. Jan Boelaars, is a missionary who, from 1951 to 1968, worked in the southern lowlands of the island of New Guinea, in the part now called Irian Jaya. In this area his Congregation, the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, had been active since 1905, gradually extending its work from the Marind-anim coast first to the Merauke hinterland, later to the Digul district and the Mimika coast. During the war all activities north and west of the Digul river had to be suspended. After the war they were resumed. For the Mission's work among the Jaqaj of the Mappi district this implied that the missionaries had to start all over again. Pre-war contacts had been fairly superficial here. The Government had scarcely begun to bring the area under control when the Pacific war started, which, to the Jaqaj, presented a welcome opportunity to renew the head-hunting practices for which they had always been notorious.

Law and order had hardly been restored when, in 1951, Boelaars arrived in the area. He had been trained in anthropology and linguistics, and it was decided that he should be charged with anthropological research in the area. The New Guinea Government, which was as anxious as the Mission to become better informed about the unruly Jaqaj, subsidized the work for a number of years. Unfortunately, Boelaars was not completely exempted from pastoral duties, and this combination of tasks hampered the speedy progress of his studies. Nevertheless, in 1956 he was able to return to The Netherlands to write his report, which appeared in printed form in 1958. The book had definite merits, but was not the all-round ethnography which had been hoped for.

In the meantime Boelaars returned to the Mappi district as a missionary. Here he stayed until 1960, when he went to Merauke. After a second furlough he was stationed in the Digul district, where he did research among the Mandobo, a tribe settled in the territory between the Digul and the lower Kao rivers. His contributions to their ethnography appeared in 1970 (Mandobo's tussen de Digoel en de Kao, Assen: Van Gorcum). Yet, he could not forget the Jaqaj. His

XIV Head-hunters about themselves experiences among them during his second stay had persuaded him of the desirability of a more adequate description, a view which he found confirmed when, in 1967 and 1968, he passed another year among the now Christianized Jaqaj.

Back in The Netherlands, he wrote the first draft of the book being published here. However, it was a long time before the final stages were reached. One factor responsible for the delay was the fact that he had to return to his regular work, now as a staff member of various colleges for the training of priests in Indonesia. Another delaying factor was the translation of the text into English. We need not dwell on all this. All that matters is that, through the years, Boelaars persevered, finally to enrich anthropological science with a wealth of valuable data on the social and religious life of a highly interesting people, and with a vast and really unique body of information on their warlike past.

This does not imply that Boelaars' description is adequate in every respect. It has certain weaknesses, some of them due to the fact that the author, in spite of his training, has never developed into the all-round methodologist who is keen on answering in advance the questions provoked by his findings. None the less, we must not blame him too much for this. It is by no means certain that a more methodical worker would have been more successful in writing this book than Boelaars. The combination of fieldwork with pastoral duties during a period of, initially at least, rather compulsory adaptation to new norms of behaviour — the hand of the mission teacher often pressed heavily upon the villagers — must have been anything but conducive to that free exchange of information which is the basic condition for anthropological research. Bearing this in mind (I have witnessed occasionally some symptoms of the tyrannical behaviour of these village teachers myself), it is actually amazing that the author has managed to collect such widely varied information on numerous topics which, from a native point of view, it must have been highly unattractive to discuss. In spite of these serious handicaps, Boelaars has managed to open up a new world to us, a world disturbed by astounding acts of everrecurring violence, and yet also a world which had a place for more humane feelings and virtues. He has succeeded in letting people talk about themselves. Even in translation the style of their stories often testifies to their authenticity.

In addition, the book fills a gap, or, to be more precise, it makes us aware of a gap. The Trans-Digul area is, to an important extent, a white

Foreword XV zone on the ethnographic map of New Guinea. We are well informed on the Mimika, fairly well on ‘Frederik Hendrik Island’, and, thanks to Boelaars, on the Jaqaj. But we know fairly little of the Asmat, next to nothing of the people dwelling along the Casuarine Coast, and (what is the worst of it) of the numerous Awju tribes in the interior. The gap is decidedly lamentable, because the available information testifies that we have here a type of social organization which differs markedly from that prevailing in the central mountains and the lowlands east and south of the Digul river, which — if Strait Marianne is considered as a branch of the Digul — figures as a kind of dividing-line between the patrilineally organized tribes of the eastern lowlands, and those of the Trans-Digul area organized in ambilateral, non-unilineal, territorial groups. A really amazing fact is that the Jaqaj also have this Trans- Digul type of organization, whereas linguistically they are closely akin to the strictly patrilineal Marind-anim and Boadzi. Besides, they may be presumed to have originated — like the Marind — from the southern foot-hills of the central mountains. What has happened for them to have adopted such a different type of social organization, and for their mythology to differ so widely from that of the Marind, while at the same time they have persisted, like the Marind-anim, in institutionalized homosexuality? Questions like these are unanswerable as long as we remain utterly uninformed about the cultures of the Awju and other tribes of the area. Here lies an inviting field of investigation for the proponents of urgent anthropology.

There is every reason, then, to thank the Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology (Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- еп Volkenkunde) for its preparedness to publish the present text in its Verhandelingen series. This text constitutes an important contribution to our knowledge, and will no doubt provide a strong stimulus for further research in this isolated area, which still holds many secrets which, disclosed, promise a better understanding of the perplexing diversity of cultures that is characteristic of this part of the Papuan lowlands. There is not a second area in the world where cultural diversity has assumed such extreme proportions as exactly here. The opportunity for research is still there. But time is short. The wind of change is blowing everywhere.

J. van Baal emeritus professor of anthropology

Introduction

North of the continent of Australia lies the second largest island in the world, usually called New Guinea. The western part of it belongs to Indonesia and is nowadays called Irian Jaya. It is divided into a northern and a southern half by a large range of mountains. The southern part consists of a vast lowland through which two large rivers, the Digul and the Islands River flow. They descend from the mountains in the north to empty themselves into the Arafura Sea.

Between these two large rivers many other rivers are found which originate in the swamps and also find their way to the Arafura Sea. The names of these major swamp rivers are the Asuwé, the Pasuwé, the Qondu and the Mappi. It is the river Mappi in which we are interested here, because all along the tributaries on the right-hand side are the settlements of the tribe which is the subject of this book. Today this tribe calls itself Јадај (pronounced Ya'hry). This name was first heard in 1957 by Father C. Meuwese, m.s.c., as it was used by the neighbouring tribe, the Awju, when they spoke about their arch-enemies on the river Mappi. Jaqaj was not, however, a name used by outsiders only. The members of the tribe themselves also used this name. During my research, the great war-leader Jaéndé, a native of the village of Képi, used the word when he spoke about the founders of the tribe (called Babaé). He opposed them to the sun (called tapaq), stating: “Babaé Jaqajre, Tapaq kandire", i.e. “the founders of the tribe are human beings, the sun stands apart". The fact that Jaéndé used the name of his tribe, Jaqaj, in this sense, shows that he understood it to mean “human being".

The neighbouring tribes of the Jaqaj are as follows. East of the Jaqaj, a part of the just mentioned Awju people inhabit the left-hand side of the river Mappi. To the north of them, another group of the Awju people occupies the head-waters of the Asuwé, the Pasuwé, and the Qondu. To the west, the Qondu tribes close the circle around the Jaqaj. All these neighbouring tribes have been the objects of the head-hunting raids of the Jaqaj. Only one Jaqaj village is situated outside the Mappi area. It is the village of Jodom on the left-hand side of the Digul river near the junction of this river with the river Kawarga. The Jodom people had fairly frequent contacts with the inhabitants of the south coast, the so-called Marind-anim.!

The territory of the Jaqaj tribe has been described by the late Mr. A. Perk as follows: "Numerous rivers intersect the scenery and during the rainy monsoon the rivers regularly overflow their banks and often flood large areas for several months. These flooded areas are large, especially in the northern district, but gradually decrease towards the south. The part of the country above high-water level is characterized by low rolling hills; real valleys in the terrain are rare. Exact data about the climate are poor, but oral information confirms our personal experience that there are not any lengthy, strongly marked dry seasons. There are periods of dry weather but even then there will be spells of rain from time to time.” The soil is, generally speaking, either sand or loam. The fertility of the soil in the north is, generally speaking, inferior to that in the south. This can be gathered from the natural vegetation, which in the north consists of fairly sparse and thin-stemmed low wood, while towards the south trees are larger in diameter. The fertility of the soil in the north can be described as moderate to poor and in the south as moderately productive. The greater part of the country consists of lowland rain forests and nearly everywhere the upper layers of the soil consist of humus. The thickness of these layers varies very much and depends on the density of the jungle. The impression is that the mineral reserves of the soil are rather poor, especially in the north. Although there is a large variety of wood, valuable types are found only sporadically.” °

The first impression the tribesmen made on an outsider has been formulated by the physician Dr. Harahap, who took part in an expedition to the Mappi territory in 1933. He writes in his report: “The next day we went up the river Mappi and towards seven o'clock in the morning we arrived at a Mappi settlement. Here the people did not run away (like they had done on the Digul). We clearly saw how all the women and children were sent into the forest, while the men (some four hundred in number) armed with bows, arrows and spears calmly awaited our arrival. Looking at the scenery from the river, a stranger could hardly guess the presence of a settlement, for everywhere there were dense jungle and bushes. The natives awaited us standing on the banks in their little canoes. When we drew near to the opening in the brushwood, cut out as a kind of 'city gate', the natives posted themselves under cover in the wood. The whole terrain consists of dense forest with high trees. Here and there parts have been cleared in order to provide space for the barrack-like houses which are some forty yards long and some six to eight yards wide. All the houses are in remarkably good condition. The people are of average height, while the build of their bodies betrays exceptional strength and toughness. The whole appearance of the Mappi radiates strength, courage and blood-thirstiness. Everybody walks about stark naked. Bodily ornaments are very sober." * Technical data concerning the physical appearance of the Jaqaj are not available. To a layman in physical anthropology their stature is neither tall nor short. Their skin is a chocolate brown, the hair is crisp, and the broad-winged nose has a deep base. The lips are not too thick and there is some prognathism. Among the adults the lean angular type dominates. In 1956 the total Jaqaj population was 8,742, according to a survey made by the physician W. Bakker, who conducted an anti-framboesia campaign among the Jaqaj from May until October of that year.?

Data about the origin of the Jaqaj tribe are scarce. The Jaqaj themselves tell a detailed story about a journey made by one of their ancestors, Ajré, which may refer to the origin of these people.® The story relates how Ajré came rowing down the Kawa (— Kao, a northeastern tributary of the Digul), crossed the river Edera, arrived at Joda (= Jodom) and from there visited the rivers in what is now the Jaqaj territory. The way this myth speaks about these rivers shows clearly that they are the rivers as they exist today. Ajré provided the people with stone axes, roofing made from leaves, the canoe, and the canoes on trestles in which the great warriors were laid in state after their death. Ajré also instructed the people of this country in head-hunting and taught them how to celebrate the festivities following a head-hunting raid. It is possible that this story contains some traces of the historical origin of this tribe. If it describes a historical journey, the Јадај must have come from the north and taken the country where they now live by forth from the people who inhabited it before them. There are several pieces of evidence which might prove that this supposition is correct. In various settlements (Monana, Mur, Moin and Rép) there are coconut trees which are said to have been planted by the Awju. A man of the Wajpaqari group at Masin said that in former times the Awju used to live on the Miwamón river, but that they retreated from there after exchanging children with the new inhabitants, the Jaqaj. Thirdly, there is a story which says that the Awju of the Nambéomón district fled to the other side of the river Kawarga. Father J. Verschueren, m.s.c., held the opinion that the Jaqaj invaded the Awju country and that the two tribes first lived together in a kind of “symbiosis” in the period following the invasion. According to this theory the Awju were either massacred or driven away by the Jaqaj at a later date.

It was not until the beginning of the twentieth century that the government of the Netherlands East Indies started with what is called "the pacification" of the outlying district of New Guinea (Irian Jaya). One of the first tasks of the Dutch government was to put a stop to the head-hunting raids of the Marind-anim who went hunting for heads far beyond the border between the Dutch and the British administrations in New Guinea. The Marind also penetrated the territories of the tribes across the Digul. Once the strict measures of the pacification program forced the Marind to stay in their villages on the south coast, the Jaqaj, who lived further inland, were able to extend their own raiding territory towards the south and the east. They even became an increasing threat to the regions on the south bank of the river Digul, which had already been brought under government control.

In 1956 the so-called “Mappi Post" was built on the hill Tamao near the outlet of the river Mappi into the Digul. Military personnel were garrisoned there. The people of the Mappi district soon became aware of the trading possibilities with the coastal areas which were in close contact with western civilization. Their desire for iron-ware was so strong that they sold their own children to the Marind at Okaba on the coast. There were regular contacts between the two tribes and it could not escape the attention of the Papuans that the presence of Dutch government officials had brought a certain amount of peace and security to the area south of the Digul river. This was an element which attracted the Papuans who lived in the interior. Several groups of people who felt threatened in their own territories moved and settled in the area which was under the control of the government. This migration caused much unrest in the areas “invaded”. Repeatedly, police patrols were ordered to chase the invading Mappi back to their own country. There were quite a number of skirmishes on the Digul, but their purpose of frightening the Mappi people and making them stay away was not achieved.

Dutch missionaries of the Sacred Heart (m.s.c. — missionarii sacratissimi cordis [Jesu]) had been working on the south coast for about thirty years and from their coastal footholds they extended their tours of duty into the unknown parts of the island. Early in the 1930’s Father W. Thieman discovered various Mappi settlements on the Digul river, and soon managed to post native teachers (from the Moluccas) in these settlements. In 1936 Father J. Grent and Father P. Rievers entered the Mappi area to explore the territory and its people. In the course of the same year the Catholic mission, aided by the government, opened three schools at Korombuag, Ragagai and Refadup (Jatan). The first attempts at penetrating into the area had been made, but a difficult future awaited both the government and the mission. They had their centres at Tanahmerah, a place situated high up the Digul river. The officials of the government were supervised by an Assistant- Resident who had his head-quarters at Tual (Kei Islands, South Moluccas). The missionaries were in similar circumstances. Their bishop also resided in the Kei Islands. The southern part of New Guinea was an outpost for both the government and the mission.

In 1937 Father C. Meuwese, m.s.c., parish priest at Tanahmerah, began regular journeys to the Mappi territory two or three times a year. He either travelled by the government steamer's regular service between Tual and New Guinea, or he sailed in his own motor-boat Paulus. Whenever his motor-launch broke down, Meuwese had to use the native means of transport, the canoe. When he ventured from the Mappi post into the interior he had to depend on native oarsmen. This affected both the speed of his travels and often even his destination. The natives showed little willingness to visit enemy settlements whose names the priest knew but not their exact location. In the first period of Meuwese's travels they “happened to lose their way" or denied that settlements with such names actually existed. The rowers often gave misleading information about the distance, or they refused to take the missionary to the more distant settlements under the pretext that the people were bad and dangerous. Once they accompanied him in great numbers, hundreds of them, but upon arrival at the settlement ransacked the place. For the missionary this was a very unpleasant surprise which provided a bad introduction to these Mappi people.

In order to enable missionaries to work among the people on the Mappi, a study was made of the languages of the tribes living in this area. In 1949 the linguistic expert from the mission, Father P. Drabbe, m.s.c., came to the Mappi territory. He collected his findings in a grammar,’ which also contains a list of some four hundred words. Drabbe found that the language of the Jaqaj tribe belongs to a larger group of languages which includes those of the Marind and Boazi tribes, and can be distinguished from all other languages spoken in southwestern Irian by a prefixal conjugation of the process word. In his analysis of the language he stated that there are two dialects: “The first is spoken near the rivers Oba and Miwamón; the second near the Nambéomón, the Mabur and the Bapaé. The differences іп conjugation are slight; the differences in vocabulary are rather great.” " The Jaqaj were able to understand one another's dialects. The people living in the northern part of the Mappi district also differed in character from the southern Jaqaj. The people in the south were less bold, less self-contained, and less conservative than the people in the north. In the past, both the northern and southern groups used to exchange children and adopt them. As for the rest there were no direct links between them.

From the first moment that the Dutch army and the missionaries entered their country, the Jaqaj were suspicious of change and very reluctant to adapt themselves. This animosity showed up especially in their behaviour towards the teachers who were posted by the mission in the Jaqaj settlements. It is not surprising that the Jaqaj were reluctant to part with their traditions and that they hesitated to place their confidence in strangers. The Jaqaj saw the teacher as a stranger who had forced himself upon them and had taken away their own authority in the settlement. The first teachers, in turn, could not be blamed for failing to see that these people possessed an acceptable system of ethics, because day after day they were confronted with examples of a cultural ideal which to them were an abomination of all civilization. The government usually sided with the teachers. The teacher was assumed to be right and the difficulties arising from his measures could only be imputed to the “ignorance” and “unwillingness" of the Jaqaj. In these early days of contact the Dutch officers and the missionaries did not appreciate the fighting spirit of this tribe, which included and was supported by a whole system of regulations protecting their mores. The fight against head-hunting was foremost in the minds of the government officials. After the war Mr. R. den Haan, head of the local government at Tanahmerah and the district officer of the Mappi territory, sought the cooperation of the mission. He and Father C. Meuwese made a number of arrangements which were put on record in a note. The note clearly states that measures should be directed against the various customs that encouraged or promoted head-hunting. The memorandum mentions explicitly the wedding-feast (during the course of which a head was hung from the arm of the bride), mourning garb (which could be cut off only by a man who had captured a head), and peace ceremonies (which could not be held unless both sides had seized an equal number of heads). The note also deals with the fight against pederasty, burial above the ground, child marriages and those cases in which physical force was used to make young and immature girls live with older men. The execution of the plan was postponed until the new government assistant, Mr. F. Maturbongs, arrived in the Jaqaj area. He implemented these measures with great ability and zeal.