What follows is an informal treatise on the head-shrinking practices of the Amazon's Jivaros Indians,
sent to me by a friend with the same appreciation for the bizarre as myself.
 

Introduction to the Jivaro Indian

Although there were many headhunting cultures throughout the world, only
one group was known for the ancient practice of shrinking human heads
(tsantsa). They were called the Jivaro clan who lived deep in the
Ecuadorian, and neighboring Peruvian Amazon. The Jivaros are one of the
most primitive societies that have caught the attention of the Western world
because of their unusual customs.

The Jivaroan tribes are comprised of four sub-tribes
or dialect groups known to inhabit the tropical forest
of the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. The
Achuar, Aguaruna, Huambisa, and the Shuar. Of
these, the Shuar, are most commonly referred to
when speaking of the Jivaro Indians. The Shuar have
achieved their notoriety through their customary
practice of head-shrinking.

The Jivaros are the only tribe known to have
successfully revolted against the Spanish Empire
and to have been able to thwart all subsequent attempts by the Spaniards
to conquer them. They have withstood armies of gold-seeking Incas and
defied the bravado of the early conquistadors. The Jivaro Indians are known
to be an intensely war-like group, tremendously protective of their freedom
and unwilling to subordinate themselves to other authorities.

The Jivaro Indians have a reputation for their fierceness which distinguishes
them from their counterparts based on the savageness directed toward
their enemies. Early Spanish chronicles relate that in the year 1599, the
Jivaros banded together and killed 25,000 white people in raids on two
settlements. In particular, the massacre of the Logrono stands out as
particularly ruthless. The attack was instigated over the natives being taxed
in their gold-trade. After uncovering the unscrupulous practices of the
visiting governor, molten gold was later poured down his throat until his
bowels burst. Following his execution, the remaining Spaniards were killed
along with the older women and children. The younger useful women were
taken as prisoners to join the clan. The settlement itself was raided and
burned to the ground. From this point onward, the Jivaro Indians remained
unconquered despite the fact that they inhabited one of the richest regions
 in South America for gold deposits. The Jivaro's fierce fighting reputation
and head-shrinking practice continued to discourage outsiders from
entering their territories.
 

How to Prepare a Shrunken-Head

After an attack on the enemy, the victim or victims were killed and
immediately decapitated. Sometimes the decapitation process occurred
while the victim was still alive.

The head is cut off below the neck with a section of the skin from the chest
and back is taken with it. The killer removes his woven head-band and
passes it through the mouth and neck of the head and ties it over his shoulder
to facilitate a rapid retreat from the victim's camp. Should the killer have no
head band, the warrior will utilize a section of vine. The head shrinking
process occurred in the following way:

With the immediate fighting over, the warriors assemble
back at agreed upon camps alongside a river away from
the enemy's territory. It is here that the head shrinking
process begins.

Now safe, the killer begins to work on the head. A slit is
made in the neck and up the back of the head, allowing
the skin and hair to be carefully peeled from the skull.
The skull is then discarded into the river and left as a gift
to the pani, the anaconda.

Carefully, the eyes are sewn shut with fine native fiber. The lips are closed
and skewered with little wooden pegs, which are later removed and replaced
with dangling strings. From here the tsantsa goes to the sacred boiling pots
or cooking jars. The head is simmered for approximately an hour and a half
to two hours. If the heads were left for any longer, the hair would have fallen
out. On removal from the pots, the skin is dark and rubbery, and the head is
about 1/3 its original size. The skin is turned inside out and all the flesh
adhering is scraped off with a knife. The scraped skin is then turned right
side out and the slit in the rear is sewn together. What remains is similar to
that of an empty rubber glove.

The final shrinking is done with hot stones and sand collected nearby in order
to sear the interior and to shrink the head further. These stones are dropped
one at a time through the neck opening and constantly rotated inside to
prevent scorching. When the skin becomes too small for the stones to be
rolled around within the head, sand is heated in a food bowl and substituted
for the stones. The sand enters the crevices of the nose and ears, where the
stones could not reach. This process is repeated frequently. Hot stones are
later applied to the exterior of the face to seal and shape the features.
Surplus hair is singed off and the finished product hung over a fire to harden
and blacken. A heated machete is applied to the lips to dry them. Following
this procedure, the three chonta are put through the lips and the lips are then
lashed together with string.

This entire process would last for approximately one week, with the head
being worked on daily while en route back to their own village. The last day of
work on the trophy is spent in a forest a few hours away from their village
where the first tsantsa celebration will take place. Here, the warriors will
make a hole in the top of the head and a double kumai is inserted and tied to
a shirt stick of chonta palm on the inside, so that the head can be worn
around the warrior's neck.

The Jivaro Indians were preoccupied with realism, which is clearly shown in
the careful preparation of the head. Due to the meticulousness of the
tribesmen, the warrior tries to prepare the tsantsa with utmost care in order to
maintain the original likeness of a the slain victim's face.

Head-Shrinking and the Purpose of Tsantsa

In pre-Columbian times the art of shrinking heads was widespread in the
Andean area. Early chronicles have given us excellent descriptions of
shrunken heads and the methods of their preparation among the Indians of
the Ecuadorian Coast.To understand the motives behind the preparation of
tsantsa it is necessary to realize that the tsantsa itself possesses tsarutama
or magical power. Immediately following the battle the head was taken as a
trophy, which indicated that the maker had properly fulfilled the obligation to
his lineage in taking blood revenge.

Most Jivaro Indians would consider any victory over
the enemy as incomplete, and perhaps the whole
war expedition a failure if they were unable to return
without one or more trophies. Furthermore,
possessing the tsantsa itself would benefit the
warrior's good fortune as well as please the spirits
of his ancestors. The warrior could expect the
spirits of their dead relatives to bestow them with good crops and fortune.
Consequently, one could anticipate corresponding misfortune if their murders
were not properly avenged. The Jivaros gave much more thought to the harm
that might come to them through the ill will of the neglected dead relatives'
ghosts, than they did to the malevolent actions of enemy ghosts.

More importantly, the reason behind the preparation of the tsantsa is to
paralyze the spirit of the enemy attached to the head so that it cannot escape
and take revenge upon the murderer. This also prevents the spirit or soul
from continuing into the afterlife where it could harm dead ancestors. When
the warrior kills his enemy, he is not only after the victim's life, but more
importantly he seeks to possess the victim's soul. Acquiring trophies after a
battle, was also an instrument of increasing a warrior's own personal power,
known as arutam. The idea behind killing the enemy and taking his head as
a trophy, brings the victim's arutam to the warrior. The power of the dead
man's soul is still considered dangerous to the victorious tribe and therefore
the motive behind shrinking the head of the enemy is to conquer and destroy
the spirit or soul.

In addition to satisfying the notion of blood-revenge and possessing the dead
man's soul, the transformation of the head into a tsantsa implies a deadly
insult not only to the dead man himself, but also to his whole tribe.

The head means to the warrior what the Medal of Honor means to an
American soldier.
 

Celebration of the Tsantsa

After a successful attack on an enemy village, the victors were quick to cut or
mutilate the bodies of the slain enemies. Having satisfied their desire for
vengeance, the warring party made a hasty retreat before their opponents
could recover from their surprise. Messengers were sent ahead to announce
the outcome of the expedition to the waiting people at home.

A series of tsantsa feasts were held which marked a successful raid. The
rituals which followed unfolded in three episodes, each lasting several days
with the last feast separated by an interval of approximately a year. The
reason for the separation between feasts is to allow the for the re-harvesting
of crops for the subsequent celebration. The first of these feasts is referred to
as "his very blood" or numpenk. This feast is held at the house of a
previously appointed wea, or master of ceremonies who had agreed to act
as the host. The second feast is known as fulfillment or amianu, which is
celebrated approximately a year later at one of the killer's houses. The host
of this celebration usually builds a new house more worthy of the occasion.
The third and final of these feasts is called the napin, which is the largest of
all feasts with the head-takers supplying all the food and drink for the next six
days. Abundant food is required or the head-taker may lose the prestige and
notoriety he had acquired during their wartime. The Jivaro warriors smeared
themselves with blood and danced with the shrunken heads of their enemies
dramatizing the killing.

The reasons behind the ceremonies held with the tsantsa are for the benefit
of departed relatives in order to show that the Jivaros are fulfilling their
obligations of blood revenge as well as to increase their own prestige. The
possession of the trophy enabled the warrior to be singled out in admiration
amongst his peers. During this victory celebration, the women captives stood
around weeping. Accordingly, if no female captives were taken, proxies were
appointed from among their own women to mourn for each tsantsa.

In spite of the grandiose celebrations and the prestige acquired, that the
warriors held to celebrate the tsantsa, the host's resources were often
depleted during the feasts.

Surprisingly, despite the amount of care and diligence that went into the
preparation trophy and feasts, immediately following the final celebration, the
heads were often discarded with relative indifference to the children or
eventually lost in surrounding swamps.
 

Substitute Tsantsa Used During Victory Celebrations

Often during an inter-tribal war an Indian may kill his enemy but is unable to
take his head. This occurs usually for one of two reasons. The first reason
occurs when a counterattack launched by the dead man's tribe forces a hasty
retreat by the attacking party leaving no time to take a head. Secondly, the
victim may, in fact, turn out to be a relative of the opposing force in which case,
taking the head of the slain Indian is deemed unethical. In these cases, the
warrior is still entitled to a tsantsa, so he will kill a sloth and prepare its head
in absentia of the dead Indian. The use of a sloth's head is almost as
common as the actual head of human. (According to the native beliefs, these
tribes believed that all humans were the direct descendants of all animals.
The Jivaros claim to trace most of their ancient human qualities to the sloth,
who they believe is a direct survivor of ancient times.) This idea makes it
acceptable to use a sloth's head as it was once considered to be an
Jivaro Indian.

Another acceptable substitute is known as a untsuri suara which can be
employed in place of the actual human head. To make this particular tsantsa,
the killer simply pulls out some of his victim's hair rather than actually
decapitating them. The hair is later applied with beeswax and attached to a
tree gourd and used as a substitute tsantsa. It is believed that the dead
enemy's muisak or avenging soul is in it because of the presence of the hair.
 

 References

"Blood Revenge, War, and Victory Feasts Among the Jivaro Indians of Eastern Ecuador" by Rafael Karsten.
(Smithsonian Institution Bulletin 79,1923).
The Head-Hunters of Western Amazonas. by Rafael Karsten, PH. D, (Helsingfors, 1935).
"Over Trail and Through Jungle in Ecuador" by H.E.Anthony (National Geographic, October 1921).
Historical and Ethnographical Material on the Jivaro Indians by M W. Sterling (1938).
Head Hunters of the Amazon: Seven Years of Exploration and Adventure by F.W. Up De Graft (Garden City, N.Y., 1938)
"Warfare, Cannibalism, and Human Trophies" in the Handbook of South American Indians, Volume 5 by Alfred Me'traux
(edited by Julian H. Steward, 1949).
To Drink of Death:  The Narrative of a Shuar Warrior by Janet Wall Hendricks (University of Arizona Press, 1993).
The Jivaro:  People of the Sacred Waterfalls by Michael J. Harner {Doubleday Natural History Press,1972).
"Little Men:  a mystery of no smalI significance" by Caroline Alexander (Outside Magazine, April 1994).
 

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