food was of the poorest and meanest
quality. To remove this ban, the warriors would don white head-bands,
arm themselves, and sally forth either to attack a hostile village
or to ambush an unsuspecting foe. Neighboring villages were, out
of necessity, usually on good terms, but friendly relations seldom
extended beyond the second or third settlement, a distance of ten or
fifteen miles. Beyond these limits most of the people were considered
enemies and subject to attack.

While such a raid was both justifiable and necessary to the village
in which a death had occurred, it was considered an unprovoked attack
by the raided settlement; a challenge and an insult which had to be
avenged. Thus feuds were established, some of which ran through many
years, and resulted in considerable loss of life. A town, which had
lost to another a greater number of heads than they had secured, was
in honor bound to even the score, and thus another cause for battle
was furnished. The man who actually succeeded in taking a head was
received with great acclaim upon his return to the village; he was
the hero in the festival which followed, and thereafter was held in
high esteem, and so another motive was furnished. [176]

There is an indication in the _Saloko_ ceremony that heads may have
been taken to cure headache and similar ills (cf. p. 319); while the
presence of the head-basket, of the same name, in the fields suggests
a possible connection between head-hunting and the rice culture,
such as still exists among the neighboring Kalinga. [177]

The Tinguian do not now, and apparently never have practised human
sacrifice, but this custom and head-hunting seem to be closely
related, and to have as a primary cause the desire to furnish slaves
or companions for the dead. This idea was found among the ancient
Tagalog, Visayan, and Zambal, and still exists among the Apayao
of Northern Luzon; the Bagobo, Mandaya, Bila-an, and Tagakaola of
Mindanao; as well as in Borneo and the islands to the south. [178]
That it once had a strong hold on the Ilocano of the coast is made
evident by the mysterious cult known as _axibrong_, which at times
terrifies whole communities. In 1907 the region about Bangui, in
Ilocos Norte, was greatly excited over several attempts to kill people
of that settlement, and it was whispered that when a leading man,
who had recently died, was placed in his coffin, his right hand had
suddenly raised up with four fingers extended.