Reflections on Blades, Headhunting, and Cultural Symbols (Part One)
Last week I visited the Bugkalot tribe. Understand, that this is the Philippines where some would say that tribes don’t really exist. They exist as a people group, and as a language group, and as a cultural group, but they don’t necessarily have tribal chiefs or a governmental structure as some would define a tribe. We had a great time. The people were so accommodating. We were holding training with pastors and pastors’ wives on pastoral care and counseling. I think it went well. When we were done, we were given little gifts. My wife got a beautiful necklace of a Bugkalot design. For me, I got a necklace of sorts as well. Mine, however, was different. It was a tiny tёgyaden on a cord to wear around my neck. So what is a tёgyaden? It is a small curved one-handed sword (or bolo) with the inside curve being the one that is sharpened. It is kept in a wooden sheath that is decorated and secured with copper wire. I tried to find a good looking one on the Internet, but the ones that I found the people said were old and ugly. I feel like they hold onto the beautiful ones themselves. The tiny replica is interesting. One can actually take it out of the sheath and it does have a metal blade. While it wasn’t really sharpened, the metal was actually profiled to be thinner on the cutting side. The use today is ceremonial and part of tribal heritage.
However, prior to the 1970s, the tёgyaden had another function— decapitation. The Bugkalot tribe were known as headhunters. Now this term has a lot of baggage associated with it. It is seen often as a characteristic of evil savages, and perhaps cannibals. However, like pretty much everything I suppose, the truth is a bit more nuanced. There are, I think, three characteristics that make headhunters… well, headhunters:
Killing is done by warriors (or warriors in training) of the tribe, against people outside of the tribe.This killing is culturally accepted and even celebrated.A body part is kept as a trophy of the killing. This could be a head, or a scalp, or an ear or something else.Often there is a spiritual significance to the activity, but different groups vary on this so it may not be good to generalize. Also cannibalism is in no way a necessary part of headhunting. It is a completely independent activity.
If one is a cynic— and often I am— I might say that much of this is not as strange as we make it out to be. Americans, as a group, will often allow their warriors to go out and kill outsiders (often calling this “war”). This killing is often celebrated. In most cases a body part trophy is not part of the tradition, but it has been at certain times in American history. During World War II, some soldiers would send skulls of the enemy back to their significant others. These were meant to impress, not “gross out.” A couple of centuries before, scalps were collected— normally carried out by Native tribes, but with the blessing and remuneration of European colonizers. I am not trying to equivocate here and suggest a sort of “we all do it.” Rather, I am just noting that we often over-exoticize things that seem different.
The tёgyaden is not the only decapitating blade I have been given. One of my students gave me a replica of a Kachin dao. The dao is now a symbol of the Kachin people. In fact, the Kachin state flag has the silhouette of two dao on it. The one I have been given has not been sharpened, but even in its present situation, it could definitely do some damage. A couple centuries ago it was the blade of decapitation.

I find it interesting that two groups have a blade that was used in “headhunting” as modern symbols of cultural pride and identity. Perhaps adding to the interest, both groups are predominantly Christian.
You can go by CLICKING HERE to Part Two