Ifugaos

Ifugaos, a Malay people, Philippine archipelago, chiefly in the provinces of Nueva Vizcaya and Isabela, island of Luzon. Formerly their domain lay farther north; but towards the end of the 17th century they were driven by the Gaddanes to their present homes in the hills between the Cagayan and Magat rivers. The Ifugaos, who resemble the Japanese in appearance, are much given to head-hunting, decorating their dwellings with their victims' skulls, and inserting in the distended lobe of the ear a bamboo ring for every man slain. Some of their warriors killed in battle have been found with as many as thirty-two such rings. The captures are made by means of a lasso thrown round the neck of unguarded wayfarers, who are then beheaded with a saw. The Ifugaos are all pagans, at constant weir among themselves and with all the surrounding populations.