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Description
(What the Jivaro Indians did)
After an attack on the enemy, the victim or victims were killed and
immediately decapitated. Sometimes the decapitation process occurred
while the victim was still alive.

The head is cut off below the neck with a section of the skin from the chest
and back is taken with it. The killer removes his woven head-band and
passes it through the mouth and neck of the head and ties it over his shoulder
to facilitate a rapid retreat from the victim's camp. Should the killer have no
head band, the warrior will utilize a section of vine. The head shrinking
process occurred in the following way:

With the immediate fighting over, the warriors assemble
back at agreed upon camps alongside a river away from
the enemy's territory. It is here that the head shrinking
process begins.

Now safe, the killer begins to work on the head. A slit is
made in the neck and up the back of the head, allowing
the skin and hair to be carefully peeled from the skull.
The skull is then discarded into the river and left as a gift
to the pani, the anaconda.

Carefully, the eyes are sewn shut with fine native fiber. The lips are closed
and skewered with little wooden pegs, which are later removed and replaced
with dangling strings. From here the tsantsa goes to the sacred boiling pots
or cooking jars. The head is simmered for approximately an hour and a half
to two hours. If the heads were left for any longer, the hair would have fallen
out. On removal from the pots, the skin is dark and rubbery, and the head is
about 1/3 its original size. The skin is turned inside out and all the flesh
adhering is scraped off with a knife. The scraped skin is then turned right
side out and the slit in the rear is sewn together. What remains is similar to
that of an empty rubber glove.

The final shrinking is done with hot stones and sand collected nearby in order
to sear the interior and to shrink the head further. These stones are dropped
one at a time through the neck opening and constantly rotated inside to
prevent scorching. When the skin becomes too small for the stones to be
rolled around within the head, sand is heated in a food bowl and substituted
for the stones. The sand enters the crevices of the nose and ears, where the
stones could not reach. This process is repeated frequently. Hot stones are
later applied to the exterior of the face to seal and shape the features.
Surplus hair is singed off and the finished product hung over a fire to harden
and blacken. A heated machete is applied to the lips to dry them. Following
this procedure, the three chonta are put through the lips and the lips are then
lashed together with string.

This entire process would last for approximately one week, with the head
being worked on daily while en route back to their own village. The last day of
work on the trophy is spent in a forest a few hours away from their village
where the first tsantsa celebration will take place. Here, the warriors will
make a hole in the top of the head and a double kumai is inserted and tied to
a shirt stick of chonta palm on the inside, so that the head can be worn
around the warrior's neck.

The Jivaro Indians were preoccupied with realism, which is clearly shown in
the careful preparation of the head. Due to the meticulousness of the
tribesmen, the warrior tries to prepare the tsantsa with utmost care in order to
maintain the original likeness of a the slain victim's face.

Description
(What the Jivaro Indians did)
After an attack on the enemy, the victim or victims were killed and
immediately decapitated. Sometimes the decapitation process occurred
while the victim was still alive.

The head is cut off below the neck with a section of the skin from the chest
and back is taken with it. The killer removes his woven head-band and
passes it through the mouth and neck of the head and ties it over his shoulder
to facilitate a rapid retreat from the victim's camp. Should the killer have no
head band, the warrior will utilize a section of vine. The head shrinking
process occurred in the following way:

With the immediate fighting over, the warriors assemble
back at agreed upon camps alongside a river away from
the enemy's territory. It is here that the head shrinking
process begins.

Now safe, the killer begins to work on the head. A slit is
made in the neck and up the back of the head, allowing
the skin and hair to be carefully peeled from the skull.
The skull is then discarded into the river and left as a gift
to the pani, the anaconda.

Carefully, the eyes are sewn shut with fine native fiber. The lips are closed
and skewered with little wooden pegs, which are later removed and replaced
with dangling strings. From here the tsantsa goes to the sacred boiling pots
or cooking jars. The head is simmered for approximately an hour and a half
to two hours. If the heads were left for any longer, the hair would have fallen
out. On removal from the pots, the skin is dark and rubbery, and the head is
about 1/3 its original size. The skin is turned inside out and all the flesh
adhering is scraped off with a knife. The scraped skin is then turned right
side out and the slit in the rear is sewn together. What remains is similar to
that of an empty rubber glove.

The final shrinking is done with hot stones and sand collected nearby in order
to sear the interior and to shrink the head further. These stones are dropped
one at a time through the neck opening and constantly rotated inside to
prevent scorching. When the skin becomes too small for the stones to be
rolled around within the head, sand is heated in a food bowl and substituted
for the stones. The sand enters the crevices of the nose and ears, where the
stones could not reach. This process is repeated frequently. Hot stones are
later applied to the exterior of the face to seal and shape the features.
Surplus hair is singed off and the finished product hung over a fire to harden
and blacken. A heated machete is applied to the lips to dry them. Following
this procedure, the three chonta are put through the lips and the lips are then
lashed together with string.

This entire process would last for approximately one week, with the head
being worked on daily while en route back to their own village. The last day of
work on the trophy is spent in a forest a few hours away from their village
where the first tsantsa celebration will take place. Here, the warriors will
make a hole in the top of the head and a double kumai is inserted and tied to
a shirt stick of chonta palm on the inside, so that the head can be worn
around the warrior's neck.

The Jivaro Indians were preoccupied with realism, which is clearly shown in
the careful preparation of the head. Due to the meticulousness of the
tribesmen, the warrior tries to prepare the tsantsa with utmost care in order to
maintain the original likeness of a the slain victim's face.