Tsantsas

What happened to the “Shrunken Heads”?

When perusing the collections of the Matson Museum of Anthropology, guests will find artifacts ranging from various cultures. The installation includes displays of masks such as the Barong from Indonesia, as well as the intricate textiles of the Quechua from Peru. These items, created with complex histories and traditions, can tell us much about the people and the cultures from which they originate. The categorization of some artifacts, however, blurs the line between simply being objects crafted by people and being the remains of ancestral peoples themselves. One example are the so-called shrunken heads from the Shuar of Ecuador and Peru which have been on view in the Matson Museum in the past.

What are they?

Shrunken heads, or tsantsas, were made by the using the bodies of warriors killed in battle by the Shuar. The process has been identified as removing the skin from the head from the base of the neck, the eyes and mouth are sewn shut, and then the entire head would be boiled in hot water which would shrink it to the size of a fist (Poeta et al., 2022). Finishing touches such as hot stones to shape the features and darkening of the skin would occur before the tsantsa was subsequently used in a ceremony (Charlier et al., 2012).

The process of creating a shrunken head reflected the purpose of a tsantsa’s existence: to trap and harness the power of the avenging soul, also known as muisak, of a murdered warrior, which then would be transferred to the women of the tribe during the ceremony (Rubenstein, 2008). As women tended to the crops and livestock, the power absorbed from the muisak would offer plentiful yields. Afterwards, the head was devoid of its spiritual power and was discarded (Peers, 2011; see also Rubenstein 2008). For these reasons, a proper ceremonial tsantsa was always a male warrior, as women and children did not inherently have the powerful soul that was sought to create a shrunken head (Peers, 2011).

• Shrunken heads have appeared in various forms of pop culture and art. In the movie Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, a talking shrunken head was in the Knight Bus scene. Shrunken heads are also referenced in the lyrics of “Domesticated Animals” by Queens of the Stone Age to highlight themes of cannibalism and gore. These representations are often inaccurate.

Colonial Curiosities

The introduction of European colonization would alter the practice of creating tsantsas during the 19^th and 20^th centuries (McGreevy, 2020). A fascination had arisen in tourists and colonial officials from countries such as the United States, Great Britain, and other European nations in collecting the ‘curiosities’ of the world (Peers, 2011; see also Byron et al., 2021). Shrunken heads were deemed among these fascinating collectible items, and high demand for tsantsas along with a refusal to engage with the Shuar economically in other trades pushed for certain cultural rules to be broken. To supply the heads, more individuals had to be killed and this began to occasionally include women and children (Peers, 2011). Sometimes, a human was not used for the process at all, instead utilizing animals such as sloths or pigs (Poeta et al., 2022).

People who wanted to profit and were not Shuar would attempt to mimic the production of a shrunken head with varying degrees of accuracy, but often lacked specific techniques or materials that made a tsantsa authentic. A tsantsa produced by the Shuar following the proper traditions is considered a ceremonial shrunken head, while those breaking the traditions for mass production due to colonial demand are called commercial market tsantsas (Poeta et al., 2022).

• Despite claims of random bodies from morgues being used to create shrunken heads, there is little evidence to support this claim.

The circulation of shrunken heads resulted in a confusing mix of authentic tsantsas and those made for the commercial market, being sold, gifted, and stored away in vast collections of other dubiously acquired items. Eventually, once the novelty wore off and collectors did not want a tsantsa in their possession, they would donate them to museums all over the world (Rubenstein, 2008; see also Rubenstein, 2004). This is how the Matson Museum came to possess two shrunken heads, gifted by Russell E. Stamm initially to the School of Mineral Industries, now the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, in the 1930s (Penn State Collegian, 1935). Despite knowing the name of the donor, it is quite difficult to trace back the origins of the tsantsas in many museum collections as they had passed through many hands with little to no documentation.

• It is estimated that 80% of shrunken heads in both museum and private collections are commercial market tsantsas (Piniewska et al., 2016)

Repatriation Efforts

It is a top priority of museums now to authenticate the tsantsas they have in their collections to repatriate, or to return, them to the Shuar through the Ecuadorian National Cultural Heritage Institute (Falk, 2021). Shrunken heads are not just sacred cultural artifacts but are also human remains that should be treated with respect and returned to their home for proper care.

Due to the mass circulation of commercial market tsantsas, the Ecuadorian government has emphasized the requirement of proving the authenticity of a tsantsa before they can be properly repatriated (Byron et al., 2021; see also Falk, 2021). Since then, various studies and methods have been published to outline effective approaches to authenticating shrunken heads.

Having a Say

Even in the case of a shrunken head not being authentic, museums have a large role to play in how peoples and their cultures are represented to the world. A study done at the University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum asked visitors what they took away from the shrunken head exhibits, most commenting on how the cultural practice seemed savage and barbaric. Information cards with the displays explaining the practice seemed to not have an effect on visitor perceptions (McGreevy, 2020). Therefore, it is vital that museum displays are curated carefully by taking into consideration preconceived notions that may be present in audiences and working to consult the members of the community they are representing.

• For a recent article discussing the Tsantsas Project in Ecuador, see: Álvarez, María Patricia Ordóñez, Consuelo Fernández-Salvador, and Maria de Lourdes Torres. “Reflexiones en torno al Proyecto Tsantsas: repensando las colecciones de objetos Shuar a nivel nacional e internacional.” Esferas 4 (2023): 70-93. https://revistas.usfq.edu.ec/index.php/esferas/article/view/2818 

The goal is to put forth efforts in not harming, but rather supporting the native and indigenous communities and cultures that museums interact with through their artifacts and exhibits.

Moving forward, the Matson Museum is taking the pulse of the field when it comes to displaying the tsantsas and has removed them from the display in the meantime. As more information about the origins of these two individuals becomes available, the Museum will engage the proper authorities from Ecuador and the Shuar nations, as appropriate.