Cultures: The Long Heads

Sundaland is home to many amicable people willing to trade with fairness, eager to exchange knowledge and even provide aid to strangers in times of need. But there are also those that are aggressive and warlike in their disposition. Non more than the Long Head people named for the result of the skull binding they practice on their newborn. 

They call themselves the Ngawar and it is said they practice binding in order to attune their minds better to the communications from their gods. Their deities must be filled with bloodlust because it seems that the Long Heads live only for war and conquest. 

The stories of their assaults on peaceful people are countless and so are the rumours of the grizzly consequences for the prisoners of war they capture. Of course one can not be sure of their truthfulness since so few ever manage to escape their clutches. Slavery and human sacrifice are just the beginning of the horrors they are said to inflict on their victims. I will not repeat what else I have heard of their acts as I feel merely uttering the details somehow defiles my very being.

It is said that they once managed to organise themselves under a great leader and conquered many lands before finally being defeated by a great army of allies. Since then they have mostly been confined to more remote areas of Sundaland often quarrelling amongst themselves. Although not a generation goes by without some warlord gathering a large enough army to lay waste to various nearby cities. The potential for them to organise on a larger scale once again is always present and must surely be prepared for, lest the worst happen again.

In battle they favour no particular weapons, short swords, spears, bows and slings are all used by them. Tactics vary from group to group however it can be said that often individuals chase personal glory even at the expense of their fellows. One characteristic that is quite pervasive is the use of various plant derived medicines to alleviate pain and increase bravery and bloodlust in battle.

They are not entirely devoid of culture but most of their efforts in building monuments and temples are rather crude compared to what is found amongst other peoples. Often they are content to repurpose what they capture from others. Like most in Sundaland they have a keen interest in the motions of the stars, although they are not the most sophisticated in their knowledge of the heavens and ultimately it is just another tool to be used for control of the population by the shamans, priests and warlords.  

- An Account of Sundaland by Alom Takal