Yes, that is a real, human, shrunken head. And yes, that is my 11-year-old giving it bunny ears. The boy has a wicked sense of humor.
That shrunken head has been in the museum collection (but not always on display) for over 50 years. My mother saw that same head when she was a child. My much older siblings saw it on school trips. I always visited him when I went to the museum until the new building was built and the head was put into storage. I distinctly remember the docent explaining how the head was shrunken in the first place. (Peeled off and boiled in oil then hot rocks were added to further shrink the skin.)
The new museum was a "classy" sort of place who just could not be seen showing a shrunken head. At least until they decided to do an exhibit called "The Weird, The Wonderful, and The What is it?" I love how they added the line, "And yes, he is definitely part of the What is it? The legendary Shrunken Head."
Hee, hee, hee....I was glad to share this rite of passage with my children. Three generations of shrunken head aficionados.
While my oldest was posing and hamming it up, his younger brother was more pensive. In true Asperger's form, M asked...."I wonder if they know his name? Do you think anyone remembers his name? Do you think God will let him go to heaven with no head? Do you think it hurt when they cut off his head?"
2 comments:
Only you can make me laugh, and make me get teary-eyed in the same post, on the same subject. I love the little guy's generous heart. And I love the big guy's sense of humor.
What a cool exhibit!
Dy
I reckon that his sense of humor has a bit to do with your own. How wierd it would be to see a true shrunken head.
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