While such a raid was both justifiable and necessary to the village in which a death had occurred, it was considered an unprovoked attack by the raided settlement; a challenge and an insult which had to be avenged.  Thus feuds were established, some of which ran through many years, and resulted in considerable loss of life.  A town, which had lost to another a greater number of heads than they had secured, was in honor bound to even the score, and thus another cause for battle was furnished.  The man who actually succeeded in taking a head was received with great acclaim upon his return to the village; he was the hero in the festival which followed, and thereafter was held in high esteem, and so another motive was furnished. [176]

There is an indication in the Saloko ceremony that heads may have been taken to cure headache and similar ills (cf. p. 319); while the presence of the head-basket, of the same name, in the fields suggests a possible connection between head-hunting and the rice culture, such as still exists among the neighboring Kalinga. [177]

The Tinguian do not now, and apparently never have practised human sacrifice, but this custom and head-hunting seem to be closely related, and to have as a primary cause the desire to furnish slaves or companions for the dead.  This idea was found among the ancient Tagalog, Visayan, and Zambal, and still exists among the Apayao of Northern Luzon; the Bagobo, Mandaya, Bila-an, and Tagakaola of Mindanao; as well as in Borneo and the islands to the south. [178] That it once had a strong hold on the Ilocano of the coast is made evident by the mysterious cult known as axibrong, which at times terrifies whole communities.  In 1907 the region about Bangui, in Ilocos Norte, was greatly excited over several attempts to kill people of that settlement, and it was whispered that when a leading man, who had recently died, was placed in his coffin, his right hand had suddenly raised up with four fingers extended.  This, it was said, was a demand on the part of the dead for four companions, and the subsequent attacks on the villagers were thought to be due to the activities of the bereaved family in complying with the wishes of the deceased.

The raids following a death were usually carried out as a village affair, and many warriors participated, but it seems that by far the greater number of heads were secured by individuals or couples, who would lie in ambush near to the trails, or to the places, where the women had to pass in carrying water from the streams to the village.

While the Tinguian always chose to attack from ambush, yet he did not hesitate to fight in the open when occasion demanded it.  For a distance of fifteen or twenty feet he depended on his spear, but for close quarters he relied on his shield and head-axe.  An examination of Plate XLIV will show that the shield has three prongs at the top.  These the warrior seeks to slip between the legs of his enemy to trip