Mediceval England. 137 



The Idol Head from which our sketch is taken, was obtained 

 through a baptized Indian, who persuaded a Jivaro, notorious 

 for ill luck, that this was occasioned by the imprisonment of the 

 idol, who was desirous to travel. The Jivaro handed it over for 

 this object, when it was taken to the governor of Macas, who 

 sent suitable presents to the Indian in return for his interesting 

 gift. 



These curious trophies are thus prepared : after a war 

 the heads of the victims are cut off, the skull and its con- 

 tents removed, and a heated stone (it is said) is introduced into 

 the hollow of the skin ; desiccation goes on, and it is reduced to 

 about one-fourth, retaining some appearance of the features. 



A feast ensues, when the victor abuses the head roundly, to 

 which the head is made to reply in similar terms — the Indian 

 priest being the spokesman for the head, or chancha (an Indian 

 name for a sow), and he concludes his part thus : " Coward ! when 

 I was in life, thou didst not dare to insult me thus ; thou didst 

 tremble at the sound of my name. Coward ! some brother of 

 mine will revenge me." The victor at this raises his lance, 

 strikes, and wounds the face of his enemy, after which he sews 

 the mouth up, dooming the idol to perpetual silence, excepting 

 as as an oracle ; questions being put to it when the inquirer is 

 under the spell of a narcotic. 



When the Jivaro is pressed by the enemy, and has not 

 time to cut off the head of a victim, the ceremony is per- 

 formed on the head of a sow, which is adored as a real Idol 

 Head. Should the fruits of the earth not be in abundance, the 

 women hold a feast of supplication to the head, and if them 

 request is not granted, the hair is shaved off, and it is thrown 

 into the woods. 



A double string is attached to the top of the head, so that 

 it may be worn round the neck. The lips are sewn together, 

 and a number of strings hang from them, the use of which is 

 not apparent. 



MEDLEVAL ENGLAND* 



Among the aids to the philosophical study of history, a high 

 place must be given to the labours of the modern archaeologist, 

 who has collected and arranged an innumerable array of facts, 

 by the help of which it is possible to reconstruct the society of 



* A History of Domestic Manners and Sentiments in 'England during the Middle 

 Ages, by Thomas Wright, Esq., M.A., F.S.A., Corresponding Member of the Im- 

 perial Institute of France, etc., with Illustrations from the Illuminations in con- 

 temporary Manuscripts and other sources, drawn and engraved by F. W. Fair- 

 holt, Esq., F.S.A. Chapman and Hall, 1862. 



