kalapiting

Updated: August 24, 2026

These sticks, usually three on each side but sometimes more, are considered as spears, and the top of each is finished with a rosette representing four spear-points, called kalapiting. It seems possible that the post also represents the woman, head, arms, and body being recognisable. However that may be, the attached sticks are regarded as so many rules and reminders for the widow.

Carl Lumholtz - Through Central Borneo; an Account of Two Years' Travel in the Land of Head-Hunters Between the Years 1913 and 1917