Little Box of Secrets

You grew up thinking you were special. It’s not such a surprise since so many people treated you like you had it in you to make it big…to make something of yourself. Teachers favoured you, giving you the usual words of encouragement when you ended up not making it to first position during a certain term examination. They would single you out for school events to do this and to do that. Others weren’t as admirative as the teachers. Some would look at you with envy…their spiteful, venomous eyes shooting out laser beams of hatred; the sight of their bitter, scouring lips making you shudder and shut yourself deep inside your own soul. Fifteen years later, and the image still vividly plays in your memory when you close your eyes. That girl with the round face and tightly-pulled-back hair...whispering into the ears of all the girls in your class...turning friends into foes and best friends into strangers. You have forgiven her over the years but her voice and her scour still ...

Headhunting is a savage (and thankfully historic) custom that was once carried out in many parts of the world for a wide variety of reasons. Some tribes even continued with the practice until the mid-20 th century [ Source ]. For those who practiced it, chopping off a person’s head wasn’t just about violence or revenge. Headhunting played a significant role in their social and religious lives; the severed heads often gracing auspicious ceremonies and rituals. You’ve probably heard of the famous shrunken heads made by Amazonian headhunting tribes or of the Maori tribe’s tattooed heads. In addition to these more-well-known communities, there are plenty of tribes for whom headhunting is a meaningful and iconic part of their cultural history. Here are some fascinating communities from around the world who share a common past of headhunting: 10. The Marind-anim   [Image: Men of the Marind tribe] The Papua province of Indonesia is inhabited by a once formidable tribe k...