towards the end of World war II, an American B24 bomber was shot down by the Japanese over North Borneo, but seven of the brave crew managed skipping safety parachute and spent the rest of the war in the dense jungle. Borneo is the third largest and one of the least inhabited islands in the world, where the steep mountains, impossible paths, little civilization, soaking jacket humidity and rains that could drown a giraffe tend to deter even the hardiest of adventurers - if he could not have been easy.
The name of the island is derived from the Sanskrit word Kalamanthana , which literally means "burn time" - the name really speaks for itself. I always thought it meant "former times" - joke there for Indonesian speakers among you. Interestingly, in English, Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian part of Borneo, but in Indonesia it refers to the entire island. The region is home to tropical diseases galore and an impressive collection of snakes and ugly insects ready to bite and infect or kill someone too slow passing their paths - constant caution is advised. Bomber Boys were also probably some vague memories of school days The wild man of Borneo , it surely was with some trepidation that they have set up camp on their first night. They did not know about the Dayak headhunters - if they had, it is unlikely that any of them have closed their eyes, even for a second that night. But surprisingly, they need not have worried.
The Dayaks believed (and some people say they still do) that the taking of someone's head with a rival group and placing it on a pole in your living room could turn into a spirit that brings a healthy and abundant crops. The goal was never to behead a person or a specific enemy as an act of war or vengeance. The British and Dutch still civilized banned headhunting and made some good Christians to eradicate it once and for all, but it is always difficult to get the old to give up their quirky habits overnight, so probably he still went on to one moment. In fact, I am sure that the day from time to time grandfather still caught trying to slip out of his bedroom window in the middle of the night with a knife hidden in his shorts, looking for a easy remedy when his hip playing instead.
The seven airmen (and four other people crashed in the nearby forest) have come to be supported by the Dayak - intact heads - for the rest of the war and did not suffer so much as a cunning snick as they slept in the whole time they were there. Why? Because the Dayak are not stupid. They had lived under Japanese rule for more than three years, so when the Americans appeared their first question was: "Who will win the war" and the verdict was universal; sooner or later the Japanese were going to get their botties slapped? .
keeping this in mind, the Dayaks would not have to explain where the good luck charms imported obviously came and decided to treat as guests airmen respected. the story goes that airmen have behaved in a very modest and wise way, too, and showed great respect for their guests. I think I probably would have done the same thing in the circumstances.
for six months the Dayaks cared for Americans in the mountains. they brought them food, clothing and herbal medicines and Japanese hid long enough for them to be saved. at one point, when Airman Jim Knoch was the victim of a terrible attack of malaria the story goes that a woman Dayak chewed his food for him and fed him like a baby. Unlike concentration camps, the fire bombing of cities and the abandonment of massive nuclear devices, simple Dayak quest for health and crop insurance seems almost sweet. Until you are walking in downtown Pontianak during a flu epidemic anyway ....