James George Scott

“ Outside every village is an avenue of human skulls, amid groves conspicuous from long distances. These consist of strips of the primeval jungle, huge forest trees left standing where all the remaining country is cleared for cultivation. The undergrowth is usually cut away, and these avenues are commonly but not always in deep shade. ”

“ In the opinion of the Wa the ghost of a dead man goes with his skull and hangs about its neighbourhood, and so many skulls posted up outside his village gate mean so many watchdog umbrae attached to the village, jealous of their own preserves and intolerant of interlopers from the invisible world. ”

“ It is thought necessary to add some skulls to this pathway every year if the crops are to be good. The heads of distinguished and pious men and of strangers are the most efficacious. The head-hunting season lasts through March and April, and it is when the Wa hill fields are being got ready for planting that the roads in the vicinity become dangerous to the neighbouring Shans. The little that is known of the practice seems to hint at the fact that the victim selected was primarily a harvest victim. A Wild Wa village is a very formidable place to attack, except for civilized weapons of offence. ”