A stunning book on ritual violence in the Philippines

SOMETIMES, people who come from outside the academe are able to make substantial contributions to the field of history. The example of the recently deceased Luciano Santiago is a clear one: a respected psychiatrist who wrote outstanding books and research papers on the religious history of the Philippines.

We can say the same about the author of the book I want to comment about this week. Narciso C. Tan defines himself as "a practitioner and consultant of inclusive finance," but he has written a book that promises to be much discussed in the years to come by historians, anthropologists and any reader with intellectual curiosity. The title says it all: Púgot. Head-taking, Ritual Cannibalism and Human Sacrifice in the Philippines.