The Complete Collection of Travel Literature

by Tahir Shah

  Many of the Shuar’s thatched malocas that I encountered were much like any other Upper Amazonian houses. The traditional oval design has been largely forsaken for a simpler open-sided square house. But malocas are still built on high ground, near a river, surrounded by a garden area. They tend now to face inward to a football field. Houses are of course communal, with one area belonging to the women, and one to the husband. With less polygamy (which is frowned on by missionaries) there is more commonly only one wife, and so the house is less often subdivided along gender lines.

  In the past, in addition to barricades, there was frequently a secret passage leading to the jungle, for escape in times of attack. Houses were routinely abandoned after about ten years,-partly because the house would be rotting by then, and partly because the gardens would be overworked, and the hunting grounds depleted. With more permanent missionary-built schools, water tanks, churches and other communal buildings, villages are now less likely to be abandoned.

  Until head-taking feuds were eliminated, houses had to be large enough to hold the tsantsa feast. Garden areas, growing yuca and other vegetables would also have to be big enough to grow sufficient food for the feasts.

  The Shuar did not wage war to gain territory. Feuding was regarded as a means of taking as many heads as possible, or to capture women. Revenge would help to select the village targeted which, in all likelihood, would have made an attack of their own previously. A kakaram, a great warrior, would usually lead a warring party. To be considered a kakaram the man must have taken at least three or four heads. Before the raid, spies would be sent to stake out the enemy village. Men were recruited for the attack: usually about thirty took part. One problem of a warring party was that some of its warriors would invariably be the enemies of others. So parties were loosely arranged into pairs, mutual friends covering each other’s backs.

  Warring groups would first combine forces to attack one or two houses in the enemy village, often setting the thatch alight to drive the occupants out. The enemy were butchered regardless of age or sex. If a man snatched a girl as a wife, she may well have been butchered en route home by the rest of the group, in order to make another tsantsa.

  The world of the Shuar was based, as we have seen, on the premise that apparent reality is illusion. The importance of the soul to this premise cannot be over-emphasized. Only by understanding this complex idea, can one gain a rudimentary grasp of the working of traditional Shuar society. The belief was founded on the notion that one could enter the supernatural world by using ayahuasca, and acquire a soul there.

  Three distinct types of soul could be acquired, known accordingly as arutam, musiak and nekas wakani. The soul depended on the person and his circumstance. Once someone had attained a single soul, he was immune to all murderous forces, such as sorcery, assassination and poisoning. However, he wasn’t immune to the scourge of contagious disease brought by the white man. But when he had acquired two souls he would be immune to even these Old World afflictions.

  Nothing, traditionally, was so important to a Shuar man as acquiring an arutam soul. It ensured his survival. It was not so important for a woman, largely because females were not exposed to such danger during their lives. They did not take part in tsantsa raids. Harner (1972) asserts that an arutam soul was sought when a son was as young as six years. The child was taken by his father to a waterfall (considered as a sacred place), where he paced up and down, in the hope of attracting an arutam soul. The soul was thought to exist in the spray at the base of the waterfall. If, after several days the boy had not seen an arutam soul, he was given datura, Brugmansia arborea, juice. The father would take datura as well as giving it to his son to drink.

  In the dream which followed, the seeker would behold a pair of creatures, two giant anacondas, jaguars or even a pair of fire-balls. Taking all his courage, he had to go up and touch one of the creatures. Once he had done this they would explode and disappear. He spent the first night on the river-bank. While sleeping there, the arutam soul would come to him as an old ancestor warrior. The soul entered the child and resided in his chest. Imbued with great self-confidence, the arutam soul would give him inner strength.

  The musiak (the avenging soul) could only be acquired by someone already possessing an arutam soul. The musiak was only manifested when the possessor of an arutam soul was slain. The avenging soul seeped out of the dead warrior’s mouth, and set about avenging his death; i.e. killing the person who killed him. The Shuar believed that as the head-hunting expedition retreated, the slaughtered enemies’ souls hovered alongside the party. The only way to dispose of them, to deactivate them, was to turn them into tsantsas. This forced the avenging musiaks or souls into the shrunken heads.

  One of the processes in making a tsantsa was to rub charcoal into the skin so as to blind the avenging soul. When the shrinking itself was concluded, three consecutive tsantsa feasts were held: at the end of which the musiak spirit would be expelled from the tsantsa and sent on its way.

  In the confusion of a tsantsa raid, the warriors would have to hurry to remove heads as carefully as they could. With a knife, the victim’s skin was peeled back from the upper part of the chest, the shoulders and the back. Then the head was chopped as far down the neck as possible, close to the collar-bone, traditionally using a stone-edged axe. The warrior would remove his own headband and thread it through the neck and out of the mouth, making it easier to carry, slung over the shoulder. Heads had to be decapitated with great speed, as the tsantsa party was usually under attack at the time.

  Once they were a distance from the village, the assassins would cut the skin away from the bone and throw the skull into a river, a gift for pani, the anaconda. The skin was boiled in plain water. Within half an hour it was removed. Any more time than that and the hair began to fall out. The skin had already shrunk by about half. It was allowed to cool and dry. Then it was turned inside out, and any flesh on the inner edges was cut away. After this, the fold of skin was turned the right way again, and the slit in the back was sewn up with string made from vine. The lips were sealed with pins made from chonta palm, or vine.

  Small stones (no more than about two inches wide) were heated in a fire and, one at a time, they were rolled around the sack-like envelope of the tsantsa. Gradually it would reduce in size. When too small for stones, sand was heated and put inside. The tsantsa may have been wrapped in a large leaf to insulate the heat, keeping it in.

  The party of assassins would pack up the heads after about an hour of hot-sand treatment, and run off into the jungle towards their village. Each day they would stop for three or four hours to work on the tsantsas. It was in their interest to complete the first stages, because of fears that the musiaks would attack them.

  A machete blade was heated and pressed against the lips to dry them. Then the facial skin was repeatedly rubbed with balsa-wood charcoal. Sometimes a large red seed was placed beneath the eyelids, filling the hole, preventing the musiak from seeing. Between four and six days of treatment were needed for the basic tsantsa to be completed, at which time it was about the size of a man’s fist. A hole was made at the top of the head, and a string was tied to it, so that the warrior could wear it around his neck at the tsantsa feast.

  The feasts were huge occasions. To honor a tsantsa correctly, three separate feasts for the entire village would be held. In order that there would be sufficient food and drink for the celebration, crops of yuca were planted once the raiding party had returned. The first tsantsa feast may not have taken place until a year after the raid. Pigs would be raised, and the host may have even built a special new house for the occasion.

  Several hunters would go out into the jungle to kill game. The Shuar would use unripe bananas to keep time. They and the guests would be given an unripe banana from the same stalk. Once it was ripe, they knew it was time to get to the feast. The celebrations would each last for as much as five days, the third feast being the longest. Up to about 150 guests would turn up. Only after the thir
d banquet were the chonta palm pins removed from the tsantsa, and replaced with the long, intertwined cotton strings.

  I felt fortunate to learn the ancient rituals first-hand from Enrique, the Shuar chief at San lose village. He must be one of the last to remember the full spectrum of lore, ritual and hunting techniques.

  Hadingham (1987) cites a report from 1527 by Miguel de Estete, who accompanied Pizarro on his third voyage. He described head shrinking on an island off the coast of Ecuador, and at first assumed that the heads were from a tribe of dwarfs on the island. This substantiates the probability that head shrinking was once practised throughout the Peruvian coastal area. Nazca pots and textiles are well known for their depictions of trophy heads. A tsantsa taken from a tomb at Pisco was supposedly presented to Queen Victoria’s consort Prince Albert in the 19 th century.

  Missionary activity may have brought rampant change, but one aspect of Shuar life which appears to have altered little is a belief in witchcraft. The belief strengthens the need for a shaman. The Shuar still apparently believe that witchcraft is the source of almost all misfortune, including illness and death. Their society appears to still possess two distinct types of shaman – those who bewitch and those who cure. All shamans are either one or the other.

  All Shuar shamans have tsentak, spirit helpers, who abide by their instructions. Bewitching shamans can enlist the help of the wakani spirit bird, as we have seen. The shaman calls these birds and he blows on them. They fly to the victim’s house and circle, terrifying him. Death from madness can follow. Of course, if a member of society drops dead in accidental circumstances, it may be inferred that he died as a result of a shaman’s magic.

  Just as there was an unwavering faith in the soul, the Shuar traditionally believed in jungle spirits. For example Yacumama, the mother spirit of the river, was thought to exact revenge on any woman in menstruation who paddled across her. Yacumama could send a dolphin to upturn her boat. The spirit was only warded away if the woman wore a clove of garlic around her neck or arm. The river spirit was omnipresent. She could take many forms, including that of a Christian European. Her victims were carried to the bottom of a river, unable to ever escape from this realm: an enormous land populated with strange creatures. A reverse image of our world, it was thought to be upside-down. All the inhabitants had their heads on backwards. The spirit of the river lived in a crystal palace with walls fashioned from mother of pearl. She sat on a turtle throne fashioned from feathers, with one eye closed and the other open, always watching for the crocodile. Beliefs in such spirits of nature appear to continue, even alongside the belief in Christianity.

  One aspect of life that has not changed, is the Shuar love of hunting. No longer does a warrior embark on raids for enemies’ heads, but hunting for game is as popular now as ever. From the time that a male child can walk, he is encouraged to hunt. The boy would traditionally have been permitted to fire arrows or darts into the corpse of a slain victim, to give him practice.

  Peccary and monkey are hunted, prized for their flesh and their skins. The armadillo and agouti are only valued for their meat. Most types of bird – with the exception of carrion-carriers – are hunted, especially parrots, toucans, doves and macaws. Harner (1972) asserts that rabbits and deer are never hunted for their meat. Rabbits are supposedly considered too much like rats; and deer are not hunted for they are regarded as human demons with supernatural powers. The Shuar believed that by eating a deer they may be eating a dead man’s soul, which would then enter them. The Shuar hunters whom I met appeared to have no scruples about killing other rabbits or deer.

  A 16-gauge shotgun is the ultimate status symbol for a Shuar man. However, the ubiquitous lack of ammunition ensures that blowpipes are still in constant use. Unfortunately, the younger generation are forgetting the skill of blowpipe use, considering the weapons to be old-fashioned.

  These days the blowpipes are used mainly for tree-dwelling animals. The Shuar are regarded as great experts with blowpipes and poisoned darts. Most pipes are about seven feet long (those sold to tourists in Iquitos and elsewhere are shorter so they can fit in overhead lockers of jet airplanes). They are split down the middle, grooved and bound back together with fiber strips and a natural resinous glue, with a black beeswax coating.

  When aged about four boys are given a hollow reed. They learn to blow small darts at insects, such as butterflies. A few years later they are given a miniature blowpipe. The child shoots hummingbirds, and progresses to larger birds. When he’s about sixteen he kills his first sloth and would traditionally make a tsantsa from its head.

  Women had their own special way of killing. They would poison their victims with a natural toxin, such as ampihuasca, mixing it in the masato they served. In addition to the two poisons mentioned, Shuar hunters also use poisons derived from various species of poison arrow frogs, and are experts in blending toxins. Mumatatchi ants are sometimes cooked over a low heat until they produce a poisonous juice, which is added to ampihuasca.

  Most poisonings were traditionally done at tsantsa feasts. The big problem was locating the person responsible for the poisoning. The list of suspects was never a short one: everyone had a secret enemy who, given the right moment, he or she might want to slay. The matter fast became complex, framed by a hierarchy of death. If for example one couldn’t kill an adulterer, because he had fled, one could kill his father, brother or cousin. If a relative had been killed by witchcraft, one would go after the perpetrator seen in an ayahuasca vision. This person, of course, was more than certainly innocent, as were the witches burned at the stake during the European witch trials. So, with a little time, it’s not hard to see how everyone in such a society would be trying to avenge the death of others!

  Glossary

  Achiote: Plant whose oily red seeds are used as facial paints by Shuar and other Upper Amazonian peoples.

  Agouti: See Mahasse.

  Agua de florida: Perfumed water, used in shamanic ceremonies and for ritual purification.

  Aguardiente: Potent jungle alcohol derived from the sap of the aguardiente palm.

  Ajinomoto: Brand name of monosodium glutimate powder, popular in Peru.

  AK-47: Russian-made Kalashnikov assault rifle.

  Algonquin: Native American people of the Ottawa river valley.

  Alpaca: Domesticated llama, prized for its wool.

  Altiplano: High plateau of southern Peru and northern Bolivia.

  Amazons: Legendary tribe of warrior women, once thought to reside in the South American jungle.

  Amigo: Spanish for “friend”.

  Ampihuasca: Jungle vine used as a poison, for hunting fish etc.

  Anaconda: Large semi-aquatic species of boa constrictor.

  Anamuk: Magical bewitching dart sent to destroy by a bewitching shaman.

  Anopheles: Species of malarial mosquito.

  Arutam soul: Most important of the three Shuar souls, it is acquired in childhood and protects a warrior from death.

  Assagai: Short spear favoured by the Zulu tribe.

  Assassin cult: Secret order of murderers once operating in the Middle East, under the effect of hashish.

  Atacama Desert: South American desert, ranging from Peru to Chile on the Pacific seaboard.

  Atropine: Powerful hallucinogenic alkaloid present in datura and other Solanaceous species.

  Avatar: Incarnation of a Hindu deity; a holy man.

  Ayahuasquero: A shaman skilled in the use of ayahuasca.

  Aymara: Native American people of the Peruvian Andes, and their language.

  Aztec: Nahuatl-speaking people of Mexico, and their empire.

  Azulejos: Blue glazed tiles introduced to Peru by the Portuguese.

  Banda: Round hut, common in East Africa.

  Banisteriopsis caapi: Vine containing harmaline used in preparing ayahuasca.

  Banisteriopsis inebrians: Species of liana used for making ayahuasca; similar to Banisteriopsis caapi.

  Barriada: Shanty-town; as found on the ou
tskirts of Lima and other large cities.

  Besom: Broom made of twigs, supposedly ridden by witches.

  Bobinsana: Admixture sometimes added to ayahuasca.

  Bora: Native Indian tribe residing close to Iquitos.

  Boutu: Local name for the pink Amazonian river dolphin.

  Brugmansia: Latin name for datura.

  Brujo: Spanish for “witch”.

  Caapi: Alternative name for ayahuasca.

  Caiman: Amazonian species of alligator.

  Campesino: Spanish for “country person”.

  Capybara: Largest known rodent, it measures up to four feet and lives in the Amazon region.

  Cassava: Edible starchy tuber native to the Americas; used to make flour, porridge, alcohol etc. Also called yuca and manioc.

  Cecropia: Leafy jungle plant which induces drowsiness when eaten by sloths.

  Céntimo: One hundredth of a Peruvian Sol.

  Ceviche: Dish of raw fish marinated in lemon juice,-popular on the Peruvian coast.

  Chacapa: Ritualistic rattle used by Amazonian shamans.

  Chacruna: Admixture often added to ayahuasca, regarded as important in providing colorful visions (Psychotria viridis).

  Chagas’ disease: Infection carried by the Assassin beetle, causing heart palpitations and death.

  Chancay: Pre-Incan civilization of coastal Peru, famed for its pottery.

  Charqui: Beef stew, popular in the Peruvian Andes.

  Chicha: Maize-based liquor, popular in Andean communities.

  Chigger mite: Six-legged fly which burrows beneath the skin to lay its eggs.

  Chonta: Jungle palm, the heart of whose inner stem is regarded as a delicacy.