Shrunken heads (known as tsantsa or tzantza among the Jivaroan peoples) are severed and specially prepared human heads with the skull removed, reduced to a fraction of their original size, and used for trophy, ritual, trade, or other purposes. The practice of head shrinking has been documented only in the northwestern region of the Amazon rainforest, specifically among the Jivaroan peoples of Ecuador and Peru, which include the Shuar, Achuar, Huambisa, and Aguaruna tribes. The Shuar people are the only culture in the world known to have practiced ritualistic head shrinking.
Technique
The process of creating a shrunken head begins with removing the head from the body of a slain enemy. An incision is made on the back of the ear, and all skin and flesh is carefully removed from the cranium. The skull is discarded. Red seeds are placed underneath the nostrils, and the lips are sewn shut, held together with three palm pins. Fat is removed from the flesh. A wooden ball is placed under the skin to maintain form. The flesh is then boiled in water saturated with tannin-containing herbs. The head is subsequently dried with hot rocks and sand while being molded to retain human features. The skin is rubbed with charcoal ash, which, according to tradition, prevents the muisak (avenging soul) from escaping. Decorative beads may be added.
Spiritual Significance
The practice originally had deep religious meaning. The Shuar believed in three fundamental spirits:
- Wakani – innate to humans, surviving their death.
- Arutam ("vision" or "power") – protects humans from violent death.
- Muisak – a vengeful spirit that surfaces when a person carrying an Arutam spirit is murdered.
Shrinking the head of an enemy was believed to harness the enemy's spirit and compel it to serve the shrinker, preventing the soul from avenging its death. The heads were later used in religious ceremonies and feasts celebrating tribal victories.
Trade and Colonial Impact
When Western curio collectors created an economic incentive for shrunken heads, there was a sharp increase in killings to supply tourists and ethnographic collectors. Guns were commonly exchanged for heads, at a rate of roughly one gun per head. By the 1930s, a shrunken head could be purchased for about 25 U.S. dollars. The trade was eventually outlawed through cooperation between the Peruvian and Ecuadorian governments.
The commercial demand also led to widespread counterfeiting. People in Colombia and Panama, unconnected to the Jivaroans, began making fake tsantsas using corpses from morgues, heads of monkeys or sloths, or goatskin. It has been estimated that approximately 80 percent of tsantsas in private and museum hands are fraudulent, including almost all that are female or include an entire torso rather than just a head.
Repatriation and Ethical Considerations
In 1999, the National Museum of the American Indian repatriated authentic shrunken heads in its collection to Ecuador. Most countries have now banned the trade. In 2020, the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University removed its collection of shrunken heads after an ethical review, as part of an effort to decolonize its collections and avoid stereotyping. Currently, replica shrunken heads made from leather and animal hides are manufactured as curios for the tourist trade.
In Popular Culture
Shrunken heads have appeared in numerous works of fiction, including Herman Melville's Moby-Dick (1851), the Harry Potter film series (as the talking heads on the Knight Bus), the Beetlejuice films, Disneyland's Jungle Cruise ride (until 2021), and R.L. Stine's Goosebumps book How I Got My Shrunken Head (1996).
See Also
- Mokomokai – preserved Māori heads also used as trade goods.
