To Drink of Death: The Narrative of a Shuar Warrior

The Shuar people of southeastern Ecuador are famous for their fierce independence, their long resistance to conquest . . . and their practice of shrinking heads. Among the members of this warlike tribe, the name Tukup' is held in great respect as both a warrior and a shaman. Anthropologist Hendricks chanced to meet Tukup' during her fieldwork, and he accepted her invitation to tell his life story. That account, presented here, provides a valuable look at the Shuar--and their enemies, the neighboring Achuar--from the perspective of one of the last surviving warriors of a region long torn by intertribal conflict.