Shrunken heads

Shrunken heads known to some Indigenous cultures as tsantsa or tzantza are a real-world item created from human remains which are religious items for the Jivaroan Indigenous peoples of South America.

Description[]

Shrunken Heads are the skins of human heads, shrunken and preserved via heating around wooden balls. These heads are often traditionally decorated with beads and knots. Shrunken Heads traditionally signify the bound soul of a vengeful enemy or muisak though European colonists would appropriate them as exotic trophies. Certain Jivoroan peoples such as the Shuar and Achuar had ceremonial feasts thrown following a head-shrinking.

Shrunken Heads are created via skinning an enemy's head and wrapping said pelt around a wooden ball. The remains also have red seeds placed under their nostrils, have their mouths and eyes sewn shut, and have their lips sealed with three palm pins. The heads are subsequently boiled with herbs to tan and shrink the flesh before being removed and rubbed with ash to prevent the head's spirit from leaving. While drying, the skin would be moulded to maintain its human features.

History[]

Real-world history[]

Shrunken heads are a religious practice of Jivaroan peoples performed to bind the soul of an enemy in the afterlife who might be vengeful. Colonists erroneously referred to this practice as, "Headhunting" and deemed shrunken heads as an exotic curios. These westerners pressured Indigenous peoples into trading these heads in the 1910s. Because of this, many Indigenous peoples took to faking the heads with animal leather while some others would grave-rob or murder for heads to trade.

Jungle Cruise appearances[]

Disney Parks[]

Bengal Barbecue[]

The character of Colonel Nedley Lostmore or, "Shrunken Ned" is the sentient shrunken-head of a British colonist who following his beheading became the jungle's, "First self-service witch-doctor".

Jungle Cruise[]

The characters of Trader Sam and Chief Nah-mee used to try and make trades with their inventory of shrunken heads from their Amazon outpost. These were removed in 2021 due to the racism embedded within their inclusion. However, a sign during the 2023 Jingle Cruise included a promotion for, "Trader Sam-ta" mentioning a, "Head start" on Holiday shopping, and not that, "Inventory shrinking".^[1]^[2]

Jingle Cruise[]

During the Walt Disney World version of this overlay, Chief Nah-mee appeared dressed as Santa Claus offering shrunken heads as potential Christmas gifts.

Shrunken Ned's Junior Jungle Boats[]

The name of Shrunken Ned is a portmanteau of Shrunken Head.

Trader Sam's[]

Prior to 2021 changes, these bars had motifs relating to shrunken heads. The bars had a drink called the Shrunken Zombie Head (later renamed to the Zombie Head) which was served in a mug resembling the head of a corpse. The menu descriptions read, "Every time Sam's business shrinks for our favourite head salesman he celebrates with one of these supernatural potions".^[3] Both bars also had, "Family trees" of shrunken-heads belonging to Sam's family-members. When the Shrunken Zombie Head was ordered, ghostly noises filled the bars as the heads lit up. The menus also mentioned Sam trading heads for beer.^[4]

Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar[]

In this bar was a box containing the shrunken-head of the mother of Captain Jack Sparrow, both of whom were patrons of Sam's bar. Another feature was a portrait of Sam's alleged grandfather Billamongawonga holding a basket of shrunken heads.

Film[]

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom[]

There is a shrunken-head adorning the headdress of Mola Ram.

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End[]

Jack Sparrow finds his mother as a shrunken-head in the possession of his father, Captain Edward Teague.

Television[]

Mickey Mouse[]

Goofy briefly appears dressed as Nah-mee while wielding a shrunken head and umbrella in the episode "Wish Upon a Coin".

Other connections[]

The African Queen[]

One of Chief Nah-mee's shrunken heads was supposedly modelled after Katherine Hepburn due to her African Queen character Rose Sayer.

Other appearances[]

Film[]

Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas[]

In this film, the, "Pumpkin King" Jack Skellington takes over Christmas and gives one small boy a shrunken-head as a Christmas-present.

The Princess and the Frog[]

Doctor Facilier's Voodoo Emporium contains many sentient shrunken heads connecting to his Loa employers and Facilier has a shrunken head in his possession, presumably belonging to his mother or royal maternal ancestor.

Disney Parks[]

Jock Lindsey's Hangar Bar[]

A shrunken-head appears in the lost & found of Jock Lindsey's bar, next to a stack of umbrellas.

Trivia[]

The Zombie Head mugs are modelled after Blaine Gibson's, "Leering head" moulds made for the Haunted Mansion used for characters such as the Hatbox Ghost and Ezra the hitchhiking ghost.
Some of the racist depictions of the Jivaro in the Jungle Cruise might be influenced by the character of Queequeg from Herman Melville's Moby Dick. While a Pacific Islander, Queequeg was a cannibalistic shrunken-head salesman with facial tattoos and who is often portrayed as wearing a top-hat.
Incidentally, Universal Studios has its own theme-park controversy regarding racist depictions of shrunken heads. In this case, audio-animatronic shrunken-heads featured in the Wizarding World of Harry Potter where the shrunken heads are racist stereotypes of Jamaican/Haitian individuals and with the author of the books of-which they originate being a known racist.