Head-hunting among the Marindese and Boetinese tribes of New Guinea is not mere wanton cruelty, but a "moral-religious necessity." The natives have the highest motives: they love their children and yearn for immortality, and headhunting is their way of satisfying both urges. This theory is expounded by Anthropologist Justus M. Van der Kroef of Michigan State College, in the current American Anthropologist.
Chief problem among the people on the south coast of New Guinea is how to name their children. No ordinary name will serve. Each child must have a name that has been taken—along with a head—from a living person. If...
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