They probably kept the practice from their Kun (Pentan) predecessors. I know that many moons ago (not long after GRoY came out) Greg agreed with me that the Pentans took scalps, but I couldn't convince him that they took heads.
IMO: The Praxians most emphatically *don't* take heads, what with the "largest Thanatar temple in the world" (TotRM 15) in the Greatlands. Probably any hint of head-taking is worth an investigation by one of Storm Bull's goon squads.
The lush jungles of Teshnos or Pamaltela and the East Isles cry out for lost tribes of headhunters ala New Guinea or the Amazon, keeping shrunken heads in their Longhouses deep in the forest... Cannibals too, probably (though not necessarily Ogres, I can see ritual cannibalization like the Cannibal cult of Prax there). Blowguns and instant paralyzing poison, pygmies, all the great Jungle "B" Movie cliches (or check out "The Mummy Returns" :-) ).
In the West, head taking is Greatly Frowned On, except for the occasional "I'll make a winecup from his skull!" type of vengeance, performed only on specific personal enemies, and only once in a lifetime.
Though Saint's skulls might be found in Western reliqueries or Cathedrals.
I would be surprised if there wasn't at least *one* head-taking regiment in the Imperial army.
Somewhere there has to be a crazed magician (Theist, Animist, Sorcerer, who cares?) with a desk or cabinet full of severed heads whom he consults for policy (the Centauri Emperor from Babylon 5).
Brazen (or Iron) heads that whisper enigmatic wisdom into the ears of cultists or sorcerers...
And of course, there are so many other body parts one can harvest from a kill: Scalp, skin, ears, thumbs, finger bones, whole hands, feet...
RR
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