XIII 



SPIRITUAL EXISTENCES 21 



the assembled men with a wisp of shredded palm- 

 leaves. 



Then the procession carries the heads into the 

 house and up and down the gallery. The men 

 dressed in their war coats, carrying shields and 

 swords, drawn up in a long line, sing the war 

 chorus, and go through a peculiar evolution, known 

 as Sega lupar. Each man keeps turning to face his 

 neighbours, first on one side, then on the other, with 

 regular steps in time with all the rest. This seems 

 to symbolise the alertness of the warriors on the 

 war-path, looking in every direction. The heads, 

 which have been carried by old men, are then hung up 

 over the principal hearth on the beam on which the 

 old heads are hanging ; they are suspended by 

 means of a rattan, of which one end is knotted 

 and the other passed upward through the foramen 

 magnum and a hole cut in the top of the skull. 

 After this the men sit down to drink, and the 

 chief describes the taking of the heads, eulogising 

 the warrior who drew first blood in each case, 

 and who is credited with the glory of the taking 

 of the head. Then follows a big feast, in every 

 room a pig or fowl being killed and eaten ; after 

 which more borak is drunk, the war chorus break- 

 ing out spontaneously at brief intervals. Borak 

 is offered to the heads by pouring it into small 

 bamboo cups suspended beside them ; and a bit of 

 fat pork will be pushed into the mouth of each. The 

 heads, or rather the Toh associated with them, are 

 supposed to drink and eat these offerings. The 

 fact that the bits of pork remain unconsumed does 

 not seem to raise any difficulty in the minds of the 

 Kayans ; they seem to believe that the essence of 

 the food is consumed. 



At all times the heads hanging in the house are 

 treated respectfully and somewhat fearfully. When 

 it is necessary to handle them, some old man under- 



