ALFURS, a general name given to tribes of low culture and mixed origin inhabiting parts of the eastern islands of the In donesian archipelago, Halmahera, Ceram, Timorlaut and Timor and the adjacent islets. They are probably of Proto-Malay and Indonesian extraction with a strong admixture of Papuan ele ments; and in Ceram in particular seem to have decided affinities with the dolicho-cephalic people of Oceania. Generally speaking they use bark belts and thigh-cloths, chew betel (tobacco is not used in Ceram), cultivate sago rather than rice, are exogamous, patrilineal and ancestor-worshippers, laying out their dead in trees, but there is a good deal of variation between different groups. Thus the head-hunting (q.v.) cult, which is strong in Ceram, takes the form of cannibalism in Timorlaut. In Ceram the women only are tattooed ; in Timorlaut both sexes. In Ceram a quasi-secret society is formed for the administration of justice, a tree spirit is invoked for aid in war, and the skull of an enemy or slave is put under the posts of buildings, while head-hunters warn victims of hostile intentions by raiding their gardens and damaging the fruit trees. In Timorlaut warriors swallow a but terfly to obtain courage (see METEMPSYCHOSIS), and trial by ordeal of battle is practised. A bamboo-headed spear is still used in Ceram.