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South American Shrunken Head
We hope this poor guy can find a good home for all the trouble he's gone through. His original turf certainly wasn't a picnic, though the South American Indian tribe known as the Jivaro, who used his head for a savage ritual, shrunk it down to the size of a large tomato. These Indians of the Ecuadorian Coast and the Peruvian Amazon thrived in an intense, warlike culture. Interest in this culture grew during the 19th Century, and these shrunken heads (tsantsas) became trophies for taking the life of a member of an enemy tribe. Tsantsas were the result of an elaborate process believed to trap the souls of the victims, taking the span of 5 or 6 days. The skin was carefully removed from a skull by an incision on the back of the head and placed into boiling water. The skin is then turned inside out and remaining flesh is scraped away. The incision is then sewn together. The remains of the red stitching and the incision are visible on the back of this tsantsa. The skin is also rubbed with charcoal throughout the process so the soul cannot see out. As in this case, sometimes a member of the same tribe living in a different village was killed. But rather than behead them, they only extracted some hair and attached it to a gourd with beeswax. The Jivaro were reluctant to part with these possessions after Western Civilization expressed an interest in them. This particular shrunken head was obtained from a sailor who got it in Ecuador. These heads were often buried with the head taker. So at leat our friend's luck got better. Unfortunately, a little late.
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