The Shuar

The Shuar live in the Amazonian regions of Ecuador and Peru. They are widely known for their skills in battle and for the practice of creating shrunken heads, properly known as tsantsas. Tsantsas were made by removing the skull and boiling the head of an enemy warrior who had been killed in combat. The purpose of this ritual was to trap the angry spirit (muisak) of the enemy and prevent it from seeking revenge.

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, people of European descent began purchasing tsantsas as exotic collectibles. This demand led to an increase in warfare among the Shuar, as heads became a trade commodity. The market even spurred non-Shuar groups to replicate the process to sell counterfeit tsantsas for profit (Matson Museum of Anthropology).

The Shuar are known for their fierce independence. In 1599, after years of Spanish rule and exploitation—particularly in the over-taxation of their gold trade—the Shuar revolted. They killed all of their Spanish overlords in a coordinated uprising. In a legendary act of retribution, they gave the Spanish governor a special execution: they poured molten gold down his throat, a symbolic punishment for his greed (Goot, 2003).

Despite their fearsome reputation, the Shuar are not mindlessly violent. Today, many people visit Shuar communities to participate in traditional healing ceremonies led by shamans. These often include the use of ayahuasca, a powerful plant medicine used for spiritual insight. The Shuar also use Datura, a far more dangerous hallucinogen, but they do not share this ceremony with outsiders due to its intensity and sacredness (Perkins, 2001).

References:

Tsantsas Matson Museum of Anthropology

https://matson.psu.edu/tsantsas/

Goot, F. R. W. Van de. Berge, R. L. ten. Vos, R. (February, 2003) Molten gold was poured down his throat until his bowels burst Journal of Clinical Pathology

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1769869/v

Perkins, John. Chumpi, Shakaim Mariano Shakai Ijisam. (2001) Spirit of the Shuar wisdom from the last unconquered people of the Amazon Destiny Books