[Head hunting and hair witchcraft (Mummies 2)].
In this second essay on mummies and embalment, 1 of the most primitive, but nevertheless very interesting examples of artificial mummification is described: the Tsantsas or shrunken heads of the Jíbaro Indians of the basin of the High Amazon River. While the other head hunters dried, smoked or otherwise mummified the whole head of their victims, the Jíbaros shrink the tsantsa to the size of a human first, maintaining the original features as much as possible. The technique of this laborious process is discussed, as well as the ideological backgrounds of head hunting and skull worship which induced primitive men to practice such cruel customs. Another very important factor in this complicated ideological framework, is the concept of the existence of a material soul, seated in the head and especially in the hair. Therefore, the use of hair witchcraft all over the world must be mentioned too, as it implicates the "spiritual value" of the tsantsas, according to the quantity and beauty of their hair. Maybe, the relationship between the size of the head and the length of its hair, was the reason why the Jíbaros reduced the former to increase the latter. However, we can only admire these masterworks of the Indians whose motives for head hunting were not bloodthirst or cruelty, but deep spiritual concepts, as they are typical for primitive religions.
D000884:Anthropology, Cultural; D004615:Embalming / Q000379:methods; D006197:Hair; D006801:Humans; D007199:Indians, South American; D008273:Magic; D009106:Mummies
Kopfjägerei und Haarzauber (Mumien, 2. Teil).