So I’m in a bus headed for a Cultral Village in Borneo, part of eastern Malaysia, when Cindy, our guide finishes her greeting and goes into a detailed primer on headhunters, male warriors of the local tribes. I listen for a while, first in interest, then in disgust and finally in fear when I suddenly realize that I’ve been married to a headhunter for almost 10 years. And, I still have my head.

As Cindy explained, I had a few things going for me to remain (be)headed and betrothed. 1. All the headhunters were male warriors. 2. The prey for headhunters are from rival tribes, never in their own family or tribe. 3. The British, who once ruled Borneo and almost every other country on this voyage, banned headhunting more than a century ago.

So I relaxed and listened as Cindy explained headhunting. It was done for two reasons depending on the tribe. One was spiritual. Some tribes believed that if you cut off the head of an opponent you would capture his spirit. The heads would be displayed on a bamboo pole placed outside the warrior’s hut or long house to ward off evil spirits.

The second reason was to win over the girl of his dreams or, at least, the father of that girl. Capturing a head meant you were brave, responsible and could provide a safe haven for your mate.

According to Cindy, there were actually rules for headhunting. Imagine that. Clean play included never attacking your target from behind. Also, you couldn’t go chop-chop on the head of an already deceased warrior. Either action would allow the dead person’s spirit to escape and that was a no-no.

While headhunting has been eliminated, the skulls are considered a treasure by many families who keep them hidden away.

Soon we arrived at the Cultural Village, where headhunters are not welcome. For what appeared to be a cheesy tourist trap, the village was an enlightening and entertaining. There were models of the huts they lived in as large family units. Chiefs lived in a long houses that could be extended as the family grew. Grandparents and parents often had their own small rooms. Female children slept together in a loft. The males slept on the floor or outside. There were small kitchens so we were treated to many foods, teas and wines. There was a rope-making display, a performance of tribal drumming and dancing and I got the tatoo of a male warrior so Bonnie watch out: I’m officially a headhunter, too.

Some notes on Borneo: It’s the third largest island in the world with part of it belonging to Malaysia, Indonesia and the tiny rich country of Brunei, which we visited a day earlier

A different excursion from Nautica went to a zoo that had species only from Borneo like Bornean orangutan; pigmy elephant; pigmy bear called a Sun bear; monitor lizard, civets and probiscris monkeys.

This is definitely a port worth coming to. Just leave your machetes at home.