It's Not the How or the What but the Who

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Perverse Incentives

Today, in the interior of Borneo, there is a population of a few million Dayak people. They live peacefully now, but in the past, their ancestors were deeply feared for their headhunting practices. The tradition started with rules handed down by a spirit: only those warriors who decapitated their enemies and returned with the heads were able to open the sacred jar used in mourning rituals. But headhunters found many other reasons to pursue the blood sport. Heads were a symbol of power and social status and often used for marriage dowries, as proof that the suitor was brave and capable of protecting his family, community, and land. They were also thought to protect against disease and enemy attack and to promote fertile ...