Borneo headhunting revival ww2 and on?
 

I believe there are outburst even today. Certainly during ww2 and the British Borneo confrontation. I assume it was carried out with mandau. Look at these fantastic old boys.

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/feat...mage-gallery/4

Cannot get the link to work.

This is true. A couple of years ago there were Malaysian heads taken on Borneo.

Is this the link you wanted to post?

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/feat...e-gallery/475/

I'm not aware of it. I think you means Madurese heads taken in Kalimantan which is the Indonesian part of Borneo during the time of Presiden Megawati Sukarnoputri :shrug:

Mohd.

Another link for viewing.
 

Here is the link Nathaniel posted a while back and Arjan posted the full video linky further in to the posting.

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ghlight=borneo

A great watch.

Gav

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Aren't these pics in reference to the WW2 film being done based on the book The Airmen and the Headhunters???

I think you are right Charles.

But I am still wondering what these papoeas from New-guinea were doing in Borneo!!:shrug: :D

(at the chapter 2: at 40:55)

Hi Maurice,

It looks like they are dancing. Not ? ;) ;)

And maybe they are there to give you that old Tarzan movie feeling.
Remember the tigers and orang utans turning up somewhere in Africa :D

Correcto, that was in Kalimantan, not Malaysia

Kisak thank you, that is the link. I just thought the two old vets looked rather fine. I live in a well known military area in the UK. Many of the older dog walkers and fellows in the pubs I meet are veterans of Malay and Borneo with some hair raising tales to tell.

Tim,
Do they have mandaus for sale also? :D

shocking .......
 

yes long I thought it where cowboy stories... but seeing this movie it proofs all .
( beware its very shocking !!!, if you don't have a good stomic don't watch ) its certainly not my intention to list this as "amusing" but what we see indeed is that the custom of headhunting is still not forgotten there......... and what a sword can do in wrong hands.

http://video.google.nl/videoplay?doc...q=dayak&hl=nl#

Oops, If your are on CET, better wait till after your dinner. :(
This is really quite frontal and shocking film. (lots of kids :shrug: :( )

Old times, modern times. not much difference.
Headhunting is and was for the head,
children, women, elderly, weak. all the same.

Really shocking!! but as collectors something I think we all need to see and keep in mind how ugly violence is.

There are some very good books with interesting photos of the British military action in Borneo with what are usually called Iban warriors and trackers in my towns library. Sadly the military section is close for a revamp until the month of march. When it is open again I will post some pictures here.

Hullo everybody!:)

In this case, you must be kidding..... a mandaoe/parang in the hands of a Dajak who still has the ability to 'smell out'/track his game (in this case a Madura in his hiding place) and can use his implement devastatingly with ease and with minimum effort? What would you call 'the right hands'? A collector a long distance away who may never have even been in contact with a Dajak, but can only talk and fantasise? It is precarious to play 'armchair pontiff'.

Anyway, if you're talking about 'violence/horror', you should look closer to home... try Raymond 'Turk' Westerling. He possibly would've been tried for 'crimes against humanity' had he not avoided it by dying.

Best,

We are going political here guys .. warning .

Yep, lets not go there.

The dayak/madurese conflict proofs that old habits don't disappear that easily.
And as much as I would rather not see such violent conflicts, regardless the time and place, one can not overlook the devastating effects of the heads being taken.
As in old times people where struck with fear and awe and it must have been a huge psychological weapon used by the dayaks.
(and than please excuse me for generalising the inhabitants of Kalimantan/Borneo under the name dayaks.)

I must say that the WW 2 headhunting raids appear more heroic in my humble western armchair point of view. (IMHWAPOV, that's a nice one :cool: )

What would you call 'the right hands'?

never the intension to go political here, there are several things you can do with a sword as we have seen, I am glad that we collectors found a peacefull solution just to hang them on the wall and enjoy/discuss them,than they are IMHWAPOV in the rigth hands and has finally found the best place to stay.

I have not found the book I wanted to show pictures from. It was about the conflict in the early 1960s, one picture of what was described as Iban, a fellow {tracker} with all the tribal earrings, tattoos and what have you sitting amongst a couple of Brit soldiers.

I have found these pictures of Borneo 1945 from " World Within a Borneo story, Tom Harrison, London; The Cresset Press; 1959" and one picture from the 1960s. The one with the helicopter is from " The Undeclared War, Harold james & Denis Sheil-Small.

The first book is all about ww2 action in Borneo by Brit, Aus and Dutch fighters with many locals. The pictures show more than I can type. One thing for sure the idea that late mandau are all just about parties and dancing is collector talk, blowing wind.

The writing here is just about incidents under the British officers noses. How many head were taken off the beaten track? the same in the 1960s no doubt?