References

The following is a list of the sources that I used to create this blog. My personal favorite is probably the head hunter website, because learning about shrinking heads was quite interesting.

http://users.polisci.wisc.edu/LA260/Shuar%20project/Webfiles/Shuarwebpage.htm

http://www.head-hunter.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shuar_people

Cave and Cosmos: Shamanic Encounters with Another Reality

 By Michael Harne

http://books.google.com/books?id=P_LZQThxRSIC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=cosmos+of+the+shuar&source=bl&ots=l4zbx9xfKL&sig=f2XIFFsjqk8rWlPgwPWQzY7FEhA&hl=en&sa=X&ei=PGxhU-HzOMLnsAT3w4HYBg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=cosmos%20of%20the%20shuar&f=false

http://brightwater.weebly.com/shuar-magic.html

http://impunitywatch.com/ecuadorian-terrorists-fighting-for-the-preservation-of-the-amazon/

http://intercontinentalcry.org/peoples/shuar/

http://www.spiritofmaat.com/archive/jan1/shuar.htm

http://www.ratical.org/LifeWeb/Articles/shuar.html

The Tsantsa; Shrunken Heads

This post is going to take a  look at Tsantsa, the Shuar rituals of shrinking heads.

Source: http://www.head-hunter.com/gallery.html

In the Andean area, shrinking heads of the enemy was a very popular thing. The Shuar were warriors and won many battles, however it was not considered a true victory unless they brought back a couple of trophies, and by trophies, I means the heads of the enemy. The Shuar people engaged in many head-hunting wars, even with other Shuar tribes.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cabeza_reducida_J%C3%ADbaro_(M._América,_Madrid)_01.jpg

In order to shrink the head, the scalp was sliced open, the skull was broken up and carefully removed to make sure that the skin was not damaged to much, the neck area was sowed up, then hot stones were placed into the skin. The hot stones would then dry the skin, which preserved it, and shrank it all at the same time.

Cultural Survival of the Shuar

In the past, before Shuar people knew how to speak spanish, they had to make a five day walk to school. Now, knowing spanish, they attend a different kind of school. The Shuar Bilingual-Bicultural Radio was recently set up by the Shuar Federation. This allows the younger generation of Shuar to attend school in their own village rather then make the long journey to school. Since they are at home, they still have the opportunity to not only become educated in general, but to become educated in what it means to be a Shuar.

Not only are these educational radio  broadcasts helping children, they are also helping the elderly become educated as well. Those adults who are not constantly working all day sometimes take the opportunity to sit down and listen and learn.

However, not all of the traditions are still around today. Just a hundred years ago, clothes didn't exist all that much in Shuar culture. It wasn't until the missionaries came in the early 1900s did clothes become a thing in the culture. And look at what the youth is wearing now-a-days! Thats right, school uniforms...

Source: http://uonews.uoregon.edu/archive/news-release/2012/5/study-ecuador-finds-common-health-risk-measure-may-not-be-universal

Shuar Migrations and Diaspora

           I really could not find all to much on the migrations of Shuar people, simply because they have been in the same area for hundreds of years! Since these people are fierce warriors, they have been able to hold on to much of their land, however, lately, Ecuador and Peru have been pushing them out of their lands a little bit, in order to mine for crude oil as well as from the deforestation that is going on in many places of the Amazon.

Source: http://impunitywatch.com/ecuadorian-terrorists-fighting-for-the-preservation-of-the-amazon/

This picture shows members from Shuar tribes "protesting" the oil mining expansions. These protests are very heated from my understudying, and the Shuar are fighting for what is truly theirs. They have been in this place for hundreds of years; they have fought and died to keep this land. It is wrong of the surrounding countries to try and take that away from these people who have survived out in the Amazon for so long.

Shuar and their Neighbors

In recent times, the relationship between the Shuar and their neighbors has gotten better. In the past, relationships have been a little more hostile. In the 1500s, the Spaniards first made contact with the Shuar. At first, this contact was "friendly". There was trading going on between the two and things were looking good. Then the Spanish tried to colonize the Shuar and tax them, but were met with the sheer force of the Shuar. The Shuar resisted, killing thousands of Spaniards and were left alone. In the 1900s, peaceful contact was made by missionaries. Schools were set up along with trading. Recently, many of the Shuar have lost their land from Ecuador and Peru due to oil findings in their land. However, Ecuador has set up a land preserve for the Shuar that is supposed to be protected. Till this day, there is still distrust, even between different tribes of Shuar people. Some men bring rifles into the woods when they are going to gather foods in the event that they "see another Shuar".

Ecuador is also trying to sell off some gold-enriched land to China, however the Shuar occupy this land, and will rest.

Source: https://seeker401.wordpress.com/2013/02/19/ecuadorian-officials-want-to-sell-gold-laden-land-to-china-legendary-shuar-tribe-will-resist-correa-ahead-in-exit-polls/

Birds of the Shuar

         As you will read in this blog, the Shuar people are animists to a certain point. Everything has a spirit. The Wakani Birds, or spirit birds, are a form of Shuar spirit culture. The Shuar shamans would send in this kind of bird to frighten an enemy and make him vulnerable, and then go in for the attack himself, with Tsentsak, which are pathogenic darts or projectiles. These Wakani birds have also been given Tsentsak by a shaman, to carry and launch from its beak into enemies. This shows that the Shuar shamans had a very tight connection with these birds that they were able to get them to do such a specific request.
        The physical aspects of these Wakani birds are they could be any sort of small bird. This means no large birds such as hawks or eagles.

The Shuar also use birds as a means for survival, or in simpler terms, they usually hunt them.

Cosmos of the Shuar

From my understanding, the Shuar people were mainly animists and had shamans before Judeo-Christian missionaries showed up in the 1900s. The shamans of this culture believed only in the "Middle World" spirits (Cave and Cosmos, Harner, p.63). This means that they tend to be strong on bewitching and sorcery. A decent amount of these once dominant cosmos have since dwindled, due to missionaries who focused on the Shuar. These people came in and began teaching children, and adults, spanish, opened up a trade with the Shuar, and converted many of them into Christians. However, according to Harner's Cave and Cosmos, the Shuar still have a spiritual dependence on a spirit of the element of water, due to its underlying source of sheer power. Although so many cultures around the world have lost many of their traditional ways, including the Shuar, these people still hold on to many of the key values that has kept them independent in their hundreds of years of existence.

World of the Shuar People

As I stated before, the Shuar people live in the Amazonian regions of Ecuador and Peru. With this type of landscape, like many others, the people living there (in this case, the Shuar) need to find ways to adapt to their environment.

The Shuar live in huts made up of wood, grass, and leaves. These huts are spread out and usually consist of a man, his wife/wives, and any unmarried children he may have. A man can have multiple wives as long as he can provide food and protection for them. They settlements that they live in usually have very loose political and kin ties.

Source: http://blogs.globalvolunteers.org/tag/shuar-culture/

Men spend their time hunting, while women spend their time cooking, gardening, and washing clothes. The women also make a drink called chicha. This is a fermented beverage that is made by chewing up cassava and then putting it into a bucket with other ingredients to let it ferment. Only the women are allowed to touch this drink, the only way the men are allowed to touch is is with their lips. The Shuar mainly eat yuca, meats, fish, potatoes, rice corn, and vegetables. They never eat pork or boa constrictors, as they are seen as sacred.

Homeland of the Shuar

The Amazonian Native American tribe of the Shuar people is the second largest and one of the best known tribal groups of their region. Their homeland is southeast Ecuador and small parts of Peru, near the border of Ecuador.

 In Ecuador they are mainly found between the Pastaza and Marañón Rivers. They are directly over the mountains from Cuenca, a city of Ecuador. These areas are beautiful tropical rain forests and some grassy flat lands. The families consists of (usually) a husband, two wives, and their children in huts made from palm fronds.

The attached photo is a sacred place for the Shuar people, and it is being threatened by mining companies.

Sources:

http://histclo.com/chron/na/sa/ama/tribe/j/jivaro.html

http://lisaleaks.com/2013/02/10/to-get-the-gold-they-will-have-to-kill-every-one-of-us/

History of the Shuar Culture

The Shuar people are indigenous to the tropical rain forests and savannas in Ecuador and Peru. In their language, Shuar means "people". These people first came to worldwide attention in the late 19th century for their bizarre ritual of head hunting.

The Shuar people are known warriors, and they tend to hunt for their enemies heads and shrink them to about the size of an orange! They would even consider a victory incomplete if they did not bring back a few "trophy" heads. But getting back to the history of this culture, much of their history before being discovered is unknown.

It is known that their tribe entered history in 1549, when the spanish came in contact with them. The Spanish attempted to conquer this tribe, but encountered hostile Shuar forces. Another attempt was met with cooperation from the Shuar, however this lasted only briefly. The Shuar people liked their independence and rebelled against the Spaniards, resulting in 30,000 Spanish deaths, and regained their freedom. To this day the Shuar people remain free, and in 1964 a governing body was set up, known as the Shuar Federation.

Introduction/Index

Hi, everyone! My name is Eric Lollis. I am a sophomore at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania. This blog is going to be dedicated to the culture of the Shuar people, who are indigenous Amazonian Native Americans. The Shuar people reside in Ecuador and Peru, living in tropical rain forests and savannas. This tribe of people are known warriors, as they have fought to keep their independence throughout the last few centuries. In this blog you will find information on this culture, such as their history, migration, and cultural survival. The following are links to the corresponding weekly posts:

History

Homeland

World (How they make a living)

Cosmos

Birds

Neighbors

Migration

Cultural Survival

References