The Shuar

One of my favorite things about living in the jungle is the opportunity to experience the incredible variety of indigenous amazonian cultures. The largest indigenous group in my region of the country are the Shuar and the more I learn about their history and traditions the more fascinated I become with this unique people.

The Shuar are probably best known in the Western world for the practice of making tzantza or shrunken heads. The tzantza were once a sacred ritual used to preserve the heads of particularly fierce enemy warriors slain in battle. The Shuar believed that this process trapped the soul of the warrior for ritual use by the tzantza owner.

The Shuar were remarkably good at resisting foreign rule and it wasn't until the late 19th century that outsiders established strong trade relationships with the Shuar and the mid 20th century that missionaries finally brought the true invasion of the outside world. The foreigners were fascinated by the tzantza practice and offered huge economic incentives for what they assumed were morbid war trophies. As a result warfare between the Shuar and nearby indigenous groups increased dramatically as warriors sought new heads to be sold to Western museums and collectors.

However, the Shuar are far more complex than the fantastical stories of spear wielding head hunters that visiting traders returned home with. They have an ancient spiritual tradition closely tied to the natural world that they live in.

Today the Shuar people and other indigenous amazonian groups face a new and much more dangerous threat from the outside world. Their ancestral lands sit on top of vast deposits of priceless minerals and oil. Since the early 20th century the Shuar have struggled with the invasion of national and international forces seeking to exploit these valuable resources. It's a complicated struggle that I am still trying to understand it within the tangled context of local and international environmental politics but it is a fascinating drama to see played out first hand.

The future of the Shuar lands is uncertain. For now I feel very privileged to have the chance to better understand this culture that seems so far removed from the outside world and yet has been profoundly impacted by it.





















This little girl is wearing traditional Shuar dress.














Shuar crafts at a local artisan fair.
















Mukindi a traditional Shuar dish of grilled giant beetle larva. I tried eating one. It's not so bad (as long as you chase it with a beer).