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.