The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

WoWasis book review: ‘Sarawak’ photos by Hedda Morrison

Hedda Morrison, who died in 1991, was the wife of Sarawak district officer Alastair Morrison. During her 20-year stay in Sarawak, she was able to accompany her husband on official journeys through the country, detailing, through writing and photographs, the lives of tribespeople. Her book Sarawak (1957) is an indispensible record of northern Borneo before […]

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James Ritchie on the religious basis for headhunting in Sarawak, Borneo

WoWasis correspondent James Ritchie on the religious basis for headhunting. You may also want to read How Headhunting originated in Sarawak, Borneo  and An Iban veteran tells how heads are smoked in Sarawak, Borneo. Headhunting was the result of serious religious beliefs among the Ibans of Sarawak.  It was a ritual filled with pomp and ceremony, […]

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James Ritchie: An Iban veteran tells how heads are smoked in Sarawak, Borneo

WoWasis correspondent James Ritchie on how headhunters smoke heads. You may also want to read: How Headhunting originated in Sarawak, Borneo and The religious basis for headhunting in Sarawak, Borneo . TEMENGGONG Jinggut anak Atari, who is in his early 60s and is the titular chief of the Ibans in Kapit, has seen heads being taken […]

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James Ritchie on How Headhunting originated in Sarawak, Borneo

WoWasiscorrespondent James Ritchie on how headhunting originated in Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia. You may also want to read: An Iban veteran tells how heads are smoked in Sarawak, Borneo and The religious basis for headhunting in Sarawak, Borneo. Are headhunters still alive in Sarawak today? The answer is yes and no. If you consider that Dayak […]

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James Ritchie’s Borneo headhunting “how-tos”

James Ritchie is Sarawak’s chronicler, a near-legendary raconteur and bon-vivant who has spent a lifetime studying the customs of the State of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo.  He has written a great deal on the practice of, and mythos surrounding the tradition of headhunting. The following three articles are available as posts on the WoWasis blog.  […]

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Visit a traditional longhouse in Sarawak, Borneo while you still can

Visiting a Dayak Longhouse is, by everyone’s account, one of the highlights  of a visit to the state of Sarawak, Borneo. Some westerners, though, have an aversion to “roughing it,” and elect to go for a day visit, rather than an overnight stay.  This is a mistake for several reasons, the chief of which is […]

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