Tsantsas

Shrunken Head or Tsantsa was part of ritual conducted by the Shuars tribes in the jungles of Ecuador & Peru in which they decapitated the enemie's head. After conducting a secret procedure using unknown herbs they would peel the skin off the person's head and cooked it with hot stones. The shrunken heads were considered trophies. According to tradition the enemy's soul was trapped and he or she could never come back after death to get revenge.

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Filename: Shrunken Head or Tsantsa
Copyright: © Carlos Aparicio Photography
Image Size: 3264x2448 / 4.3MB; Tsantsas Ecuador Indians Jivaros Shrunken Heads Latin America South America Travel Museum Itinan Museum
Contained in galleries: Ecuador

Shrunken Head or Tsantsa was part of ritual conducted by the Shuars tribes in the jungles of Ecuador & Peru in which they decapitated the enemie's head. After conducting a secret procedure using unknown herbs they would peel the skin off the person's head and cooked it with hot stones. The shrunken heads were considered trophies. According to tradition the enemy's soul was trapped and he or she could never come back after death to get revenge.