Vol. XXIII, No. 9 



WASHINGTON 



September, 1912 



HEAD-HUNTERS OF NORTHERN LUZON 



By Dean C. Worcester 



Secretary oe the Interior oe the Philippine Islands 



Author of "field Sports in the Philippines,^' "The Recent Eruption, of Mt. Ta 

 etc., in the National Geographic Magazine 



IN A recent article in the National 

 Geographic Magazine I called at- 

 tention to the fact that the number 

 of non-Christian tribes in the northern 

 part of the great island of Luzon had 

 been grossly exaggerated, and that there 

 were in reality but seven. The people of 

 all but one of these tribes have, until 

 recently, engaged in head-hunting. 



It is my purpose to give, within the 

 limits of this article, a brief account of 

 each of the head-hunting tribes. The 

 photographs reproduced in the accom- 

 panying illustrations were taken in part 

 by me and in part under my direction by 

 Mr: Charles Martin, the official photogra- 

 pher of the Philippine government. It 

 should perhaps be said in passing that 

 they are in every case strictly authentic 

 and typical. I have visited the wild 

 man's territory in northern Luzon annu- 

 ally for the past ii years, and these 

 photographs have been obtained on my 

 yearly inspection trips. 



the NEGRITOS 



Three years ago had any one stated 

 in my presence that the Negritos, or any 

 of them, were head-hunters, I should 

 promptly have questioned the truth of 

 the allegation ; but I have since had rea- 

 son to change my mind. In August, 1909, 



I was at last able to visit the hitherto 

 practically unknown eastern coast of 

 northern Luzon. The forest-clad slopes 

 of the great mountain chain extending 

 almost uninterruptedly from Baler to 

 Cape Engaho, and the territory between 

 these mountains and the Pacific, form 

 the last important Negrito stronghold 

 remaining in the Philippine Islands. In 

 this region, and in this region alone, the 

 Negrito is of practically unmixed blood, 

 and has had little or no contact with 

 white men or with Christian Filipinos. 



My trip was made during the dry sea- 

 son. At this time, when the sea is as 

 quiet as it ever gets on this forbidding 

 coast, the Negritos come down to the 

 shore in considerable numbers to fish, 

 and it was an easy matter to observe 

 through our field glasses their tiny shel- 

 ters, which were usually close to, or 

 actually on, the sea-beach. 



DIFFICULTIES OE SOCIAL INTERCOURSE 



Unfortunately it proved by no means 

 easy to make calls upon the owners of 

 these very primitive structures, owing to 

 their more than retiring dispositions. A 

 barrier reef, sloping abruptly from deep 

 water to the very surface of the sea, 

 borders this coast for scores of miles. 

 Even in periods of apparent complete 



