Today we revisit 2016 again and this heady find.
When I saw this shrunken head hanging from a bar at an estate sale, I immediately grabbed it. Well, first I made sure it wasn't real.
It wasn't too hard to see it wasn't real, but it was still cool looking. It appears to be made out of rawhide and has real hair implanted in it.
It brought to mind two different movie scenes.
It was most likely made for the tourist trade.
Real shrunken heads were made by the Jivorean tribes of Equador and Peru. Shrinking the head of a slain enemy was thought to force its spirit to serve you and prevent it from avenging its death.
By the 1920's, they had become so popular with Western tourists, the natives were killing people just to keep up with the economic demand, hence the term "headhunting parties".
It remains sketchy whether you can sell or even own an authentic shrunken head in the United States, however, if you'd like your own, may I recommend Pressman's Witch Doctor Head Shrinker kit.
There's just something spooky about a reduced head. My brother wrote a horror story about one.
ReplyDeleteSomehow I forgot that shrunken heads were literally something that people somewhere did. I thought they were just some clever marketing on behalf of Hollywood or toymakers or something.
ReplyDeleteWell, it worked for Vincent Price.
Deletehttps://drgangrene.blogspot.com/2011/06/vincent-price-shrunken-head-apple.html
I know we must have talked about this, but I wanted one of those kits like crazy when I was a kid. They are so iconic!
DeleteI did too. Strangely, I've never come across one at garage/estate sales.
DeleteHow did one go about shrinking a head? How would you get a skull to shrink?
ReplyDeleteIf I recall correctly from the research I did on this post, the skull is removed and the head is stuffed with a wooden ball to keep it's shape. Details here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrunken_head
Deleteohh, they remove the skull? I was wondering how it all shrunk with a skull in there. the answer is: there isn't one!
DeleteSpooky stuff! Wasn't Vincent Price hawking a playset version in the 70s?
ReplyDeleteHe was. https://drgangrene.blogspot.com/2011/06/vincent-price-shrunken-head-apple.html
ReplyDeleteYup, I remember that! Thanks!
Delete