Tucked away in the tropical
forests of the Peruvian Amazon lives a sub-tribe of the Jivaro people known as
the Shuar. They are mostly known for their practice of head shrinking- a method
used on the severed heads of those who are captured during annual head hunting
raids in nearby villages.
The heads, which are
known as “tsantsa”, were believed to bring good fortune to a warrior; not only
because they had succeeded in winning a battle, but also because they had avenged
their passed ancestors, who would in return would bless them with fertile land,
luck and protection.
There was also a
pressure to attain the heads of rival tribe members, as the neglect to take the
head of an enemy would reflect the neglect of a warrior’s deceased relatives,
who in anger, would inspire misfortune in the lives of those who finished any
raid empty-handed.
So how exactly are shrunken
heads made?
-First of all, the skull would be
extracted from a large incision made at the back of the head. It would then be boiled for an hour to shrink
it in size and then left out in the sun to dry out.
-When it was dry, it
would be reversed and scraped clean.
-Heated rocks and sand
would be poured inside, filling the head as if it was a small bag.
-The head would be then emptied, manipulated back into shape, and boiled again over several days until
the desired size was achieved.
-The eyes and mouth would be sewn shut as the
Shuar believed that the soul (or “muisak”) of their enemy would be trapped
inside the head, so it was imperative that their rival’s life essence could not
escape.
(Various shrunken heads, including a sloth.
Images found at head-hunter.com)
If the soul of a slain
enemy was not contained within the trophy it would be free to pass on over to
the other side and battle with the ancestors of the warrior who neglected to
trap it.
