BRAZILIAN OBSERVES SHRUNKEN INDIAN HEAD AT A MUSEUM IN RIO DE JANEIRO, 2000-04-17 (photo)

Francisco Oliveira takes a close look at a shrunken head from the cultural art exhibit "Indigenous Body and Soul," at the Indian Museum in Rio de Janeiro April 17. The head, which was a war trophy hunted down from a rival of the Jivaro tribe in the Peruvian Amazon region, is reduced to less than half its original size in a six-day process known as 'Tsanta.' The shrunken head attests to a successful hunt, while also being placed to mark a tribe's regional territory. The museum exhibit in Rio, featuring pieces from 200 different tribes, runs from April to September. GN/BM