Throughout pop culture there are scenes and images depicting shrunken heads in voodoo rituals. However, throughout history there has only been one set of tribes to ever make such an act a part of their daily life and rituals. In the indigenous jungle tribes of the Amazon, along the Ecuador border, there is a group known as the Shuar known specifically for such a ritual. Not only are the Shuar known for their aptitude in violence but also for this strange ritual whose remaining artifacts have made their way to modern day museums and displays around the world. The Shuar are best known in history as the only tribe to ever defeat the invading Spanish conquistadors 500 years ago. From this honor Westerners dubbed them the Jivaro or "savages".
Throughout Shuar history there is talk of the "Tsantsa" ceremonies, in which the severed heads and necks of enemies are shrunken and sealed as a form of justice and retribution. "They believed that humans have three souls. One of these -- called the musiak -- is charged with avenging the victim's death. The only way of pacifying the enraged soul was by shrinking the head in which it lay". (Shah, 2001, p54). It is deemed necessary by Shuar belief and culture to mutilate these severed heads as a way to stop their evil spirits from returning and seeking revenge on their attackers.
[...] Maybe some would not understand the primitive reasoning of a culture whose violence died out so many years ago. More than likely it is extremely strange to boil the skin of your enemy to those of modern day civilization. However, if put in their shoes and forced to live in the culture one could understand the savagery of warring tribes for control of the Amazon and also the need for a strange and superstitious religion in a jungle that even today is filled with mysteries never to be found. [...]
[...] Just as we now look at Abraham's near sacrifice of his son Isaac as an affront to the lord, which at the time was asking him to do that very thing. Without being in the place of those of that culture we cannot judge and cannot look upon their rituals with distaste. If given the chance some of us might even do the same to our enemies. REFERENCES Sahtouris, E. (1997). Talking With Shuar Medicine Men. Revision Shah, T. (2001). A PRICE ON THEIR HEADS. [...]
[...] The back of the head is then sliced open and the skin is pulled off of the face, using great care not to damage the facial features. The skull and muscle are then separated from each other as well. This is where some of the accounts differ in the ritual as some believe the skin itself was simply boiled, while others believe the skin is tied in a saclike figure and filled with small pebbles or sand to enhance the boiling process. [...]
[...] Shuar warrior head shrinking and its applications to modern day society Throughout pop culture there are scenes and images depicting shrunken heads in voodoo rituals. However, throughout history there has only been one set of tribes to ever make such an act a part of their daily life and rituals. In the indigenous jungle tribes of the Amazon, along the Ecuador border, there is a group known as the Shuar known specifically for such a ritual. Not only are the Shuar known for their aptitude in violence but also for this strange ritual whose remaining artifacts have made their way to modern day museums and displays around the world. [...]
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