The Munduruku and the trophy heads

Abstract

The mummification of human bodies or their parts is a cultural practice all over the world. In this context, the mummification of human heads, to prepare war trophies, had an important meaning in the culture of some human groups. In South America, Shuar or Jivaro, and Munduruku, these last ones in the Brazilian Amazonia, stood out in this practice. In the case of Munduruku, the head-trophies are extraordinary examples of the mummification by smoking and the use of vegetal substances. They possessed great symbolic and spiritual significance for the warriors that obtained and prepared them after the battles, as part of a complex ritual of confirmation of force and prestige. Culturally related to the fertility, the reproduction and survival of the group, these head-trophies, presently in Museums, have been little studied. From the analysis of a specimen of the National Museum Department of Anthropology collection at Rio de Janeiro, it was possible to confirm a series of reports of the literature data and the authenticity of this specimen.