Shrunken heads of the Jivaro

Head-hunters would take the head of the victims as a souvenir. They would slit the back of the skin and remove the skull. Then they would boil the skin to shrink it down to size and sew the back up. After that they would use rocks to stuff the hide to form the head. Holding the shrunken heads, or Tsantsa, over a fire the hide would shrink more working their way down to pebble size. Once the head is the size that suits them, the shrunken heads or Tsantsa get sewn with cords of leather. This practice is no longer being done.

Here are the shrunken heads made from goat hide.

Please note: as these are each handmade in Ecuador and each are different no two are exactly alike.

These are about 3 inches tall, not including hair.