What concepts in the Sawi culture intrigued/reviled/saddened/angered/surprised you?

There were many new things of the Sawi culture that I had not experienced before, and I was shocked to hear of it. First was the Sawi concept of cannibalism. Although I had heard of human-eating people before in my life, it was quite amazed (not in a good way!) at how they thought of it as a way to open the eyes to the knowledge of the world. Just the thought of eating another human being was disgusting and unacceptable to me, let alone eating someone you know! This leads me to my second point; the honour of treachery. In our world, betraying someone is considered as a huge moral crime. It makes you unreliable and disloyal, characteristics which are often frowned upon. However, in the Sawi world, the more times you betray someone, the higher up you are in your tribe. I couldn't understand how these ideas could be used to determine a person's position. The desire for power often leads the tribesmen to plot evil treacherous schemes to trick and kill enemy tribe members. To me, the traditional practice of 'fattening with friendship' seemed so cruel. I am the sensitive type of person that gets hurt easily. When I found out that my friend was only befriending me because of a certain resource I could provide, and then ditched me, at first, I refused to believe that he/she (to make the person remain anonymous...) had those kinds of bad intentions, despite my friends continuously warning me. In the end, it took me a while to find out, and when I did, I felt like an idiot, failing to recognize what his/her motives really were. In a way, although my example did not risk my life, the feelings of the betrayed tribesman must have been similar to mine. I just couldn't understand why people would want to do that to one another.

As I read the book, I kept on wondering what had made the Sawi so cruel in their ways of living. With my experience with my friend, I could partially understand his/her reasons for doing what he/she did; for his/her own benefit. But, for the Sawi, although the concepts of cannibalism and betrayal were partly because of their desire for power, it was mostly done because it was a traditional practice that had been passed down. It made me question what kind of ancestors the Sawis had, and if our ancestors were same, whether deep down, we were as mean as them.