to uncover a story about it among the many
Ifugao myths, a story of which I had not been aware until Dr. Briotti's
letters put me on the track. You realize that the Ifugao religion is
rich in myths. It is a very complicated religion with over a thousand
gods."

Scotty whistled. "They must have a god for nearly everything they say or
do."

"Just about," Dr. Okola agreed. "Even their universe is divided into
five regions. There is the known earth, _pugao_; the sky world,
_kabunian_; the region downriver, _lagod_; the region upriver, _daiya_;
and the underworld, _dalun_."

"What river?" Rick asked.

"Any river on which they happen to live," Okola answered. "No one knows
exactly what the original river of the Ifugaos might have been. You see,
they are immigrants. They came from the Chinese mainland, but we don't
know exactly when, or whether their original home was China. Perhaps we
will find out that it was Cambodia. We do know that their miraculous
rice terraces were started at least two thousand years ago."

"That makes them almost as old as the pyramids!" Scotty exclaimed.

"Quite right. The whole culture is quite astonishing. We think of them
as primitive people, but their history is more complex than our own.
However, we are speaking of heads. Heads have always been of the
greatest religious importance to the Ifugaos. They have been
head-hunters for religious and economic reasons for centuries. First
America, and then the Republic of the Philippines tried to stamp out the
custom. In general, we have succeeded. There is little or no
head-hunting now--so far as we know."

Lazada grunted. "The mountains are difficult to police. I doubt that we
know all that goes on. I wouldn't be surprised if a head wasn't taken
now and then. After all, the Ifugaos got the heads of two American
professors only a few years ago."

"The murders were for religious reasons," Okola explained. "Sacrifices
were needed for the rice crop. The unfortunate professors were on a
hiking trip, and they happened along at just the wrong moment."

Rick remembered newspaper reports of the incident. It had attracted
world-wide attention. The Ifugao natives responsible had been captured
by the Philippine constabulary, tried, and punished.

Okola continued, "We have traced back a thread through the complicated
maze of Ifugao myths. The thread leads to a legendary hero--the
leader-god who led the Ifugaos to the Philippines. The golden skull was
or