Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Emanuel · 14th January 2007, 01:52 AM

Hi Tim,
I've been reading about head taking in Montenegro, and it seems that in that case it was a form of warfare with some overtones of sacrifice. To them the practice was undertaken to affect the future life of the killed individuals. I understand they saw head-taking as reducing the present as well as future numbers of the ennemy, perhaps with the thought that a decapitated soul would not be reborn into future generations of fighters. There are also ballads of groups taking many heads and presenting them to the local prince or even of placing them in the towers of the local monastery. A regular fighting knife was used. In cultures that use the Ram Dao, I think the act of head-taking is purely ceremonial and undertaken in a controlled setting. The Montenegrans fought and then took heads. It's interesting that Christians would do this...perhaps a practice harkening to pre-Christian traditions.

Now looking at the Dayak, their mandaus were also fighting weapons no? They didn't need a specific ceremonial weapon for decapitation since their head-taking was done in battle. Also interesting that they did it in order to bolster their own tribe with fighting souls, not necessarily to reduce the fighting capabilities of the ennemy.
So I think that cultures developed sacrificial knives and weapons when the sacrifice was done in controlled settings. That way the whole mistery of the ceremony could be imbued into the tool used as a sacred symbol.

14th January 2007, 01:52 AM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	Hi Tim, I've been reading about head taking in Montenegro, and it seems that in that case it was a form of warfare with some overtones of sacrifice. To them the practice was undertaken to affect the future life of the killed individuals. I understand they saw head-taking as reducing the present as well as future numbers of the ennemy, perhaps with the thought that a decapitated soul would not be reborn into future generations of fighters. There are also ballads of groups taking many heads and presenting them to the local prince or even of placing them in the towers of the local monastery. A regular fighting knife was used. In cultures that use the Ram Dao, I think the act of head-taking is purely ceremonial and undertaken in a controlled setting. The Montenegrans fought and then took heads. It's interesting that Christians would do this...perhaps a practice harkening to pre-Christian traditions. Now looking at the Dayak, their mandaus were also fighting weapons no? They didn't need a specific ceremonial weapon for decapitation since their head-taking was done in battle. Also interesting that they did it in order to bolster their own tribe with fighting souls, not necessarily to reduce the fighting capabilities of the ennemy. So I think that cultures developed sacrificial knives and weapons when the sacrifice was done in controlled settings. That way the whole mistery of the ceremony could be imbued into the tool used as a sacred symbol.