Iban Art Borneo: Sexual Selection and Severed Heads - Tapa dura

Drawing on the vast repertoire of 'oral literature' of the Iban, this book shows how Iban women ritualized art in such a way that textiles drove men to take heads. The Iban people to Borneo had no scholastic aptitude tests to help them assess the intellectual capacity of a prospective mate and so they turned to art. Women looked for an intelligent and courageous man to protect them and pass on his gifts to their children. The performance indicators were a trophy head and demonstrable artistic talent. Men simply sought an intelligent woman. The performance indicator was the completion of a complex woven design in ikat, sungkit or pilih which displayed well formed hooks throughout the design. Consequently, art was consciously used by the Iban as a marker of intelligence and a basis for sexual selection.