The Morbidly Fascinating Page

This Month's Subject:

Shrunken Heads

IN THE ARCHIVES:

Lizzie Borden
The Bone Church
The Black Dahlia
Creepy Cemetery Statues
Funeral Hearses Throughout Time
The Mutter Museum
The Bog People
The Real Bonnie and Clyde
Circus Freaks

By the end of the nineteenth century, little was known about the Jivaro Indian clans in South America, except for their macabre practices of taking and then shrinking the heads of their enemies. This practice intrigued travelers and collectors and compelled them to visit these tribes to satisfy their curiosity.

To shrink a head, the Jivaros slit the back of the neck and peel the skin away from the skull. Once the skull is removed, they sew the eyes and mouth shut to prevent leakage. Hot stones and sand are poured into the vacant cavity, and the head is boiled in a broth of secret herbs. Finally, the miniaturized head is cured over an open fire to give it a distinctive leathery texture.

Robert Ripley of "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" was reported to be a big collector of shrunken heads, as well as a lot of other weird things.

More about shrunken heads can be seen HERE.