Object Details

From:NHerts

Name/TitleTsantsa (shrunken head)

About this objectA small head or tsantsa, dried and stuffed, the hair cut to an appropriate length for its proportions. There is a long but wispy moustache on the top lip. Although the hair is human, it has not been possible to determine the biological origin of the skin.

As it lacks many of the features of the true tanstsa, it may be a fake. It is possible that Charles Waterton (1782-1865), a well known naturalist who also manufactured taxidermy curios and fakes, made it. He had a Hertfordshire connection through the brewer and artist Samuel Lucas.
Tsantsa were religious objects designed to trap the soul of the dead person and make it work for the owner. Warriors used them to celebrate victories over their enemies. Tourists began to collect them in the 1800s and many western museums have sent theirs back to the peoples who made them.

The head was prepared by removing the skin and throwing away the skull. Any facial hair was singed off. The skin was then boiled and dried using hot stones. After sewing the mouth and eyes closed, the head was re-shaped. The skin was often dyed black, and hair and ornaments were added.

This tsantsa was part of the collection of Haileybury College Museum before arriving at North Hertfordshire Museum. It supposedly originates from South America, where the tsantsa tradition survived until the 1960s, but nothing else is known about it. Tsantsa were made in other parts of the world, including various Pacific islands.

If the head is genuine, the Museum will try to find out where it is from so that it can be returned to the descendants of the people who made it.

During the third national Coronavirus lockdown, in January 2021, North Hertfordshire Museum Visitor Services Assistant Joelle Van Giap researched and gave her opinion on this Tsantsa.

What is the most interesting thing about this object?
At the height of the Euro American demand for shrunken heads in the 19th Century, it is estimated that around 80% of shrunken heads ever on display were made of animal skin.

Further information
The Jivaroan People that live in the Amazonian region of South America includes tribes called The Shuar, Achuar, Huambisa and The Aguaruna people of modern-day Ecuador and Peru. For 150 years they have been reliably known to the outside world as head-hunters and makers of shrunken heads or Tsantsa’s. The now defunct practice may have been more widespread in prehistoric times hints from Peruvian coastline archaeology show.

They would make Tsantsa’s of enemies killed during raids on other tribes. The idea was to kill a well-known warrior and take his head. The more famous he was the more the head takers status grew within his tribe.

Successful war parties would return and were greeted by an older member of the tribe who announced and sponsored a feast. The warrior would return to his home and begin the task of capturing the soul or Muisak of the dead warrior. The crucial part was not the end product but more the process.

People believed that the soul would be vengeful and try to kill the head taker or his family. In order to trap it they first removed the skull and shrank the skin through a process of desiccation. The warriors would then rub the skin with balsa wood charcoal to prevent the Muisak from seeing out of the head, the lips and eyes were sewn shut for the same reason. The Hair was cut to a suitable length and sewn back on.

The Tribes believed that the spirit or Arutam Wakani all young boys acquired during the ritual of manhood, was a wandering spirit and gave them power and strength, however this spirit could leave at any point and a new spirit could be called upon to reside in its place. Therefore, sealing in the muisak was essential to stop it entering the men of the tribe. During the feasts ritual ceremonies took place where the was much dancing and the name of the dead warrior was chanted over and over by the women of the tribe. It was thought that the dancing and chanting of the women paralysed the power of the Muisak and enslaved it. Thus, transferring it to the women of the host household enabling them to increase food production.

By the time Ecuadorian authorities had ended the warfare in the 1950s most Tsantsa had been exchanged with Euro American collectors for Trade goods which has been a significant means of integrating indigenous people into the global economy. The demand was so great that many unaware collectors brought heads that were made from animal skin treated in the same way a Tsantsa would have been made to look extremely similar.

While head taking may be painted as barbaric and the kind of task undertaken by savages, let us not forget that heads have been removed from enemies throughout history, by many cultures. The heads of traitors were removed at the Tower of London and rammed onto spikes and displayed at the gate as a warning to others. In medieval Japan Samurais would remove heads and display them also. What is unique about the Tsantsa’s is that they were not viewed as trophies of war but as things that could give power, therefore after the ceremonies their value was greatly reduced. Men sometimes kept them after the feast as decorative keepsakes or personal adornments some were even buried with them. Generally, they were stuffed in an earthen ware pot and stored in the rafters under the thatched roof or given to children as playthings.

Date Made1800-1900

Period19th Century (1801-1900)

Named CollectionNorth Hertfordshire Museum - Haileybury Collection

Object TypeHuman remains

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved