http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091215164909.htm

New Orleans Cemeteries: the Significance of Religious Markings and their Relationship with Tombs.
Edward J. Krause


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Introduction
Over the semester I researched the symbolic symbols on four different tombs at St. Louis No. 1. My results, data, and theories had varied on what these symbols where, why they where placed on those tombs. My conclusion on the subject stayed very true to my original hypothesis.

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Section 1

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New Orleans cemeteries, often called “cities of the dead,” are  unusual compared to the majority of other cemeteries . New Orleans cemeteries consist of  above ground tombs and mausoleums, and the reason for this method of burying the dead above ground is due to that New Orleans is situated below sea level. Early inhabitants of the city struggled with finding a way to bury their dead everyone time the Mississippi river flooded into the city, it also flooded the cemeteries causing the bodies to basically float up from the ground and into populated areas. The bodies could not be buried deeper, high water table if you would  dig deeper one would hit water and the casket would float up from where it was buried. The notion of  placing stones in caskets or atop of them was used, but failed the citizens to keep the caskets from floating away. One more method  was to bore holes into caskets, but this method also proved useless. So the way this was countered was by using a Spanish method of burying the dead above-ground in mausoleums or vault-like tombs that stack up above the ground. Today these cemeteries are seen as tourist attractions, and some plots are still being used by families through a plot recycling process that was developed over the years.
Symbolism

Symbolism is a key aspect amongst the New Orleans cemeteries, and the meanings of these symbols are steeped in religious and voodoo meanings. The symbols are throughout every cemetery in New Orleans whether they hold some sort of significance to that person or their religion. The symbols that appear upon the tombs have a wide range of meanings.
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Hands
Hands are a prevalent symbol in New Orleans cemeteries, and they appear in different forms and have different meanings. The clasped hands is one of these prevalent symbols that symbolizes the significance of a relationship between two people or a married couple who were buried together for eternity at death. The couples headstone usually features their likeness surrounded by symbols of Christianity and their love for one another. An example of the clasped hands being used other than to show married couple can be seen at Helevetia Lodge No. 4 of the order of Odd Fellows in the Valence Street Cemetery were the clasped hands are both male and show a symbol of “brotherly respect and affection” (Huber 1982:5). The hand can also be used for many other meanings on the tombs such as to show a meaning or peace or to hold up to symbolic purpose from an organization that the inhabitant of the tomb was in. Hands are a prevalent symbol on many different tombs in New Orleans and all of them have either a Christian meaning or membership status of a society.
The Wreath
The wreath, sometimes seen alongside the weeping willow, is seen as a symbol
For memory of the person, or for something he or she accomplished in his or her life. Besides memory, it is also seen as a symbol for victory in western civilization. The wreath symbols are usually accompanied with other symbols such as the Christian symbol of the cross, a flower, a weeping willow, the name of the person, or other Christian symbols.

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The Skull and Crossbones / The Coat of Arms
The Skull and Crossbones and The Coat of Arms are other symbols seen at the cemeteries in New Orleans. The Skull and Crossbones symbolizes the transition of life on earth to the after-life (Huber 1982:104). The main tomb that depicts this in New Orleans is the obelisk at Girod the street cemetery. It was erected in 1822 by Dr. Robert Dow in remembrance of his wife, the cemetery was demolished in 1957 but the obelisk remains. The Coat of Arms can have many different meanings if depicted on a tomb. Usually in New Orleans the Coat of Arms is used to display the family crest on a tomb. The Coat of Arms is also used to display the membership of a specific fraternity or organization that the individual belonged in.

Voodoo
Voodoo is prevalent in early New Orleans, and this now lives out amongst the tombs. Voodoo is commonly seen as a black magic that existed to  place hexes or curses upon people who have brought some sort of agony upon another time, but voodoo does not stand for any of this dark magic nor is it used in a negative way towards anyone or anything. Voodoo is actually a monotheist religion, very close to Christianity and is sometimes argued to be a Christian religion, which believes in communicating with the spirit real through ancestors and saint-like deities. Voodoo of New Orleans was different from Haitian voodoo and was mainly focused in the bayou St. John area of New Orleans ( Sublette 2008: 283). A common ceremony that is synonymous with voodoo is the
ceremony of the serpent. The serpent is a  prevalent symbol within voodoo, and this
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ceremony, when  witnessed by white protestants, was viewed as a pagan or satanic witch ceremony of how the serpent is viewed in Christian religions as being evil and of the trance-like states the participants of the ceremony usually had entered ( Sublette 2008: 285). In my own personal studies of talking to voodoo priests in the past I have discovered that many voodoo priests and priestess believe they have a special divine power where they can communicate with deceased love ones and good and bad entities, such as the entity Gadae, and also that their bodies can be posed by these spirits in order to communicate with the living world. I have also personally witnesses a voodoo priest this past summer enter such trance and become possed, upon such possession the priest spoke in tongues and gave detailed descriptions of the past life of an individual to a family member that was present. Voodoo is a very powerful religion where said power carries on into the after life.

Voodoo Symbols on Tombs
The most prevalent voodoo symbol that can be seen on a tomb would be the XXX’s. The triple X’s have been argued to have many different meanings over the past hundred years. The most prevalent place for these X’s would be at St. Louis Cemetery No.1, where many different tombs are subjected to different voodoo symbolism such as the triple X’s. Upon entrance of the cemetery the most prevalent tomb with these X’s is Marie Laveau’s. Marie Laveau is the most common name that is heard when the word
voodoo is mentioned, but she was a basic accidental death case do to the fact that many
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white protestants of New Orleans feared the religion of Voodoo. Her tomb is now treated as sacred ground to voodoo enthusiasts and doubles as a major tourist attraction. Usually a person seeking luck would go up to a tomb of someone who had a high stature in voodoo in history, and that person then would write three X’s, usually in red, on the tomb of that person, and then leave a small offering such as a cigar or beads. On my last trip to St Louis No. 1 I noticed on some tombs that there are XXX’s scratched onto some tombs where the name plates removed or broken, or the names  scratched out. I came up with a theory that possibly the people within these tombs people that were hated or have did something terribly wrong, for example murder, to get their name plates destroyed like that, and the scratched X’s are not for luck but are on there to damn the person in this tomb.
Besides the X’s there are more voodoo symbols that can be found within a cemetery in New Orleans. One of these is the symbol of the monkey and the cock, this symbol, especially the golden monkey and cock, was used as a means of great luck and
well being to those in the voodoo community. Another symbol seen is the serpent, which is the most revered and holy symbol in the religion of voodoo and is a meaning of life. Not only voodoo symbolism can be seen, but also colors synonymous with voodoo also appear upon some tombs. In St. Louis No. 1 on one particular vault tomb stands out to the visitor due to the fact it is completely covered in purple wax. The color purple can have many different meanings in voodoo, but more than likely this tomb is being used for luck in love or lust for an individual, or the person buried in it died of a broken or lust filled heart and the tomb was painted in purple in order for that person to find love in the
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afterlife.
Conclusion
Symbolism is prevalent on the tombs of New Orleans. The New Orleans tombs are viewed as being so odd compared to the rest of the United States and are becoming a major tourist attraction for the city. This can become a bad thing that many of these cemeteries are still in use today and some of the families of the deceased may see this tourism as being disrespectful toward their dead family members. I personally believe if these cemeteries are going to be marked as tourism maybe a form of payment should be issued to the families. Besides the cemeteries New Orleans is a city that is engulfed in history and will continue on to be one.

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Hypothesis
New Orleans Cemeteries: The significance of religious markings and their relationship with the tombs.
I will be studying the tombs at St. Louis No.1 where I believe the different symbolic features on the tombs have a deep root with in local religions such as Catholicism and Voodoo. It is  also believed that these symbols hold a certain spiritualistic power for that specific person buried in that tomb. Also it is believed that some of the symbols hold a negative power toward certain individuals. I will also go in depth to find to try and find or figure out what is the meaning of the Voodoo triple X, and why is it so prevalent at St. Louis No. 1.

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Site Review: St. Louis No. 1
PART 1
I did my site research at St. Louis No.1 on the dates of  October 10th and 20th. I randomly selected four unmarked or unnamed tombs, and one famous tomb. The one famous tomb I selected was the tomb of Marie Laveau the voodoo queen. As I went from  tomb to tomb, I documented the symbolic markings using a journal and photography.
Collected Information
The information varied from tomb to tomb; certain tombs appeared to be more important due to the fact they had more human defacements compared to others. Also the tombs that had names on them had more engravings and statues that families had made for them compared to the tombs lacking names. The four random tombs I surveyed varied with human defacement, artifacts left for the individuals by visitors, and engravings or broken engravings. This is the data and research that I have collected at the site:
- Unknown Tomb No.1: unmarked tomb No.1 appears to be a early  tomb, and in the St. Louis inventory database it is stated that this tomb is now considered a ruin as of 1981. The tomb is small and low to the ground compared to the surrounding tombs. The tomb lacks any types of engraving that would show who the person may have been or any other information about the individual. The tomb also shows a large amount of  deterioration from environmental conditions and human defacing. This tomb also features numerous symbolic X’s scratched into the tomb. On the bottom half it appears that the X’s were scratched in a pattern and then on the far left from that there are just two sets of triple X’s that do not go with the first pattern and stand separate. Also, due to the deterioration some
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of the bricks have been moved around in a way that appears they were placed in specific locations on the tomb. There is also vegetation growth on the tomb which shows this tomb is not cared for as often as some of the other tombs.
-Unmarked Tomb 2-  Unmarked tomb No.2 appears to be an older tomb ranging from possible the mid 1800s. It appears to be a midsize tomb similar to the surrounding tombs. The tomb appears to be about five feet high and about four and a half and five feet long. The Tomb lacks any engraving or identification plate to whom it may belong. The tomb also appears weathered and deteriorated from age, and it also appears that it may be a reused tomb. The symbolic markings vary on the tomb, the prevailing symbol appears to be the triple X which appears about twenty three times around the tomb. Besides the triple X’s there are also two other markings which appear to be a circle and a scratched in heart. The circle appears around one of the Triple X groups on the top left side of the tomb and the heart appears diagonally to the circle. Unmarked Tomb 2 also has, or what appears to be, ritualistic offerings left behind. The offerings consist of copper pennies, a voodoo cock and monkey statue, a black stone placed on a block of wood, a burnt cigarette wedged in between the block of wood and statue, three packs of gum, and a artificial red rose. After doing some research I have discovered that the cock and monkey statue is a very important symbol in the religion of voodoo, and the significance it holds is that in voodoo this symbol stands for luck, and if golden prosperity. There is also a wine glass half filled with water, but I believe that is not related to the other items in context and was just possibly left there as if someone was drinking and had set it down when they where done. It also appears that this tomb is also taken care of more often due
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to the lack of vegetation growth and dirt on the tomb, but there is lime and calcium stains on the front opening where it appears flood waters may have resided over it for a prolonged period of time.
-Unmarked Tomb No.3-  Unmarked tomb No. 3 appears to be a tomb possibly from the early 1800s . It appears to be a midsize to large size tomb, similar to the surrounding tombs but a little longer in comparison. The tombs seems to be about five to five and a half feet high and about six to six and a half feet long. This also lacks any engraving, marker, or name plate that would state who may be inside the tomb. The symbolic markings on the tomb only appear to be the triple X’s which are very prevalent all over the tomb, I estimated a range of eighty five to a hundred triple X markings surrounding the tomb. Unlike the other tombs I examined, this has a high prevalence of  objects left on and around the tomb. The objects are a small necklace vile with what appears to have Florida water inside of it, a silver bar with crystals placed on it, and about twenty oyster shells. In further study I discovered that Florida water is something heavily used in voodoo rituals too ward off evil spirits. On the inclusion of the oyster shell I could not find any information to their meaning, too some of these oyster shells are filled with Florida water also.  The tomb also has suffered a large amount of deterioration from weathering, and what appears to be human intervention. Vegetation appears to be adding to the  deterioration because it is lifting bricks up .
-Tomb  of Marie Laveau-  Marie Laveau was buried in her tomb in 1881 making the tomb one hundred and twenty eight years old. The tomb appears large in comparison to all the single person tombs in the cemetery. The tomb stands approximately seven to eight
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feet high and is about six and a half feet long. There is an engraved plate stating Mari Laveau’s name and some background on her, also there is a sign staked into the ground giving some info about her and a ground engraving stating her name and range of life. The tomb has little or no deterioration in in some areas, it also seems as though the tomb is well taken care of, cleaned, and repainted on an annually basis. The tomb also lacks any visible vegetation growth which supports the idea of high maintenance for the tomb. The tombs main opening area, where the tomb’s door is located, is covered with about fifty to eighty triple X groups; with the majority are made with red or black charcoal. Around the tomb faded X’s can be seen where people had once marked them, but were cleaned off when the tomb was being cared for. The tomb has numerous of amounts of offerings, and they consist of: about fifty pairs of beads, four plush animals, five artificial flowers, a large amount of copper pennies, five varied Mardi Gras trinkets, and three cigars. On further research I found out that the beads and copper pennies are left by individuals who made a wish to Marie, or who wish to acquire good luck from Marie. Also  I discovered the cigars are a very common ritual symbol in the religion of  voodoo and are highly used  in every voodoo ceremony. With this discovery it can be stated that there are voodoo rituals possibly taking place at or around the tomb.

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- Tomb of Marie Laveau
-unknown tomb No. 1
-unknown tomb No.2
-unknown tomb No. 3

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Data Collected
The data collected focuses on number of symbolic X’s marked on tombs researched, and the amount of offerings varied at the cemetery. What was found was that Unmarked tomb No.3 had the most markings with an estimated number of 85 triple X groups, and Unmarked tomb No.1 had the least with approximately 15 X’s. The most prevalent offering appears to be copper pennies and beads tombs, and the oyster shells, also highly prevalent, were found scattered around the cemetery. The least prevalent item appeared to be plush animals which only appeared at Marie Laveau’s tomb.
Charts
The following charts are not accurate amounts but estimates of number of X’s that appear on the tombs and number of varied offerings:

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Speculations
Many theories can be used to explain the symbols and artifacts associated with four tombs at St. Louis no. 1. Dating there tombs is difficult because they lack inscription or other identifying  information ( except for Marie Laveau’s tomb, known to date to 1881). Symbolic markings on the tombs may have varied meanings which may be interrelated in some way. I believe that artifacts and symbols each have a sigficant voodoo meaning for each tomb individually.
Time Frame
Where as three out of four tombs lack names or a time of death and burial, a time frame can be placed on the tombs by appearance. Unmarked Tomb No.1 appears to possibly from the early to mid 1800’s, the reason I believe it is from this time era has due with the fact it’s a very small, not so developed tomb compared to the surrounding tombs, and it is weathered to a point that bricks are breaking off. Unknown tomb No. 2 appears to be from the mid 1800’s, possibly 1855-1865. This speculation came about when I was reviewing tombs from this time period and Unknown No.2 appears to be very similar in style in comparison of tombs from the time of 1855-1865. Unknown No.3 tomb No.3 appears to be from the time range of 1860’s – 1880’s, upon further study of this tomb I began to realize that it is some what similar to Marie Laveau’s tomb in the sense of style, but it is much smaller in height in comparison to Marie Laveau’s tomb.

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Symbolic Markings
There are many different theories on what the triple X’s that appear on the tombs in St. Louis No.1 may mean in the Voodoo religion. I have devised two different theories
of what these X’s could mean and how and why on some have other symbols that intersect with these Xs:
Theory1- My first theory is that the triple X’s are a form of voodoo ritual of asking a deceased individual, preferably someone who was influential in the world of voodoo, for some form of luck in this world, another life, or the next world. The luck may vary from things as in wealth, romance, or success. On Unmarked tomb No.2 there appears to be a heart which coincides with the surrounding triple X’s. This I believe holds truth to my theory of that the X’s could be used for luck in the sense of writing the X’s on this persons tomb in hope of that person granting them a healthy relationship with someone.
Theory 2- My second theory for the X’s is that possibly in the voodoo religion these X’s can be a form of binding or entrapment spell used to bind or entrap someone to a specific thing, item, or in something. I noticed two common things on every tomb that I saw with X’s and that was if a tomb had them they had numerous amounts of them, and they were fairly new on the tomb. After realizing this I began to develop the theory of what if certain people who practice voodoo fear or wish to use these specific people and the power they might have had at that time period, so they used a spell to entrap them in their tombs to keep their sprits on earth in order to use their spirits or keep the spirits from harming others.

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Artifacts
Among review of the sites there where many different offerings left in front of tombs. The major items found were oyster shells, beads, and coins. Each item I believe has a different meaning and ritual effect. I believe the oyster shells are used as a sense for
vitality or to assist in the search for true love. Then after doing some research on the coins and creating some of my own ideas on them, they are mainly offerings left to the deceased in order to pay for a favor from the after life such as a wish to be granted. Finally with the beads I have devised the idea of that they are mainly an offering left so the individual who has left it may be granted with financial success in life.

Conclusion
In conclusion, symbolism and voodoo are heavily prevalent amongst St. Louis No. 1. These two factors shaped this cemetery very much over the past 200 years, and even though only a select number of tombs have these features on them all the tombs still appear to be affected either due too wrongful placement or miss identifications of tombs. The environment has also played a major part on the aging and change of St. Louis No. 1 over the years in the sense of its interaction with the surrounding neighborhood and from extreme weathering over the years.

References Cited:
Huber, Leonard V.
1982, Clasped Hands: Symbolism in New Orleans Cemeteries, The Center of Louisiana Studies, University of Southwestern Louisiana, Layfette, Louisiana.

Sublette, Ned
2008, The World That Made New Orleans: From Spanish Silver to Congo Square, Lawrence Hill Books, Chicago, Illinois.

New Orleans online.com
1996-2009, New Orleans Cemeteries “Cities of the Dead”, electronic document,
http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/tours/cemeterytours.html, accessed September 22nd 2009.

Experience New Orleans
1994-2009, Cities of the Dead!, electronic document,
http://www.experienceneworleans.com/deadcity.html, accessed September 22nd 2009.

St. Louis Cemetery No. 1
2009, Local staff at cemetery.

Section 1: South American Warfare
In this section, the warfare tactics,  rituals, and warfare in general of the Jibaro Indians of eastern Ecuador. Also in this section common weapons used, means of defense, and reason for warfare will also be discussed within the paper.

The Jibaro (Jivaro) Indians of Eastern Ecuador
The Jibaro Indians are an intensely warlike tribe located in the eastern Ecuadorian Amazon. The Jibaroan tribes are split into four different sub-tribe groups due to language, those sub-tribe groups are: The Ashuar, Aguaruna, Huambisa, and the Shuar. The Shuar are the ones commonly used when describing the Jibaro tribes. Also the Shuar are highly renown for the practices of head hunting on foreign enemy tribes. The Jibaro are also known for being one of the few tribes to have successfully revolted against the Spanish

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empire, and were also able to withstand against the Incan empire.

The Jibaro Indians, like other tribes that inhabit the virgin forests of the Amazonas, do not live in villages, but instead live in large communal homes with several families that are closely related to them. They construct their houses in a way that provides defense for the family that lives in the home. Sometimes the homes are built on a river to where they use the angle of said river to provide protection for the perimeter of their home. Also the homes may be built atop hill in order to provide a perimeter view so they may see oncoming attackers. The houses are built using strong Chonta palm poles to provide a strong protection on the walls. In times of war or if threatened by opposing tribes, the outside of the house walls are fortified by an extra thick wall of big Chonta stems. Rooms within the house are positioned in a way that the warriors inside the house are given an advantage over possible attackers or intruders coming into the house hold. Before the introduction of firearms by the Spanish settlers, which were usually traded with the Indians for shrunken heads, the war chief would call for a construction of a tower either on or by the house. The tower was built upon pillars made using stems from  the Chonta palm, and the warrior climbs it using a wooden log that had incisions which was used for foot holes. These towers were known by the name of KumbÍnta. The Jibaro also use traps around the perimeters of there home, or on a path leading toward their house hold. They mainly use two types of traps for protection. The first trap is called Mesértinyu, “ a hole of death”, which consists of a round hole about one and a half meters deep and wide enough so that a man would be able to fall into it. Three pointed sticks made from Chonta, called Âshi,

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are placed at the bottom of the pit in order to impale the victims feet in order to subdue him until a warrior is able to come out and capture or kill the enemy. The second trap commonly used is the Tambânchi, which consists of using a small tree that is growing near the home, which is bent down and fixed to the ground, and then on the other end eight pointed Chonta sticks are fixed to the tree so that when the trap is sprung the tree flings upwards toward the victim, impaling him and probably killing him.

In combat the Jibaro use three principle weapons; the gun, the lance, and the shield, but before the introduction of the gun by the settlers the lance and shield were their two most prized weapons of use against an enemy or threat. The lance (nanki) consists of hard wood of the Chonta palm, were the end is sharpened in a prismatic shape to form the head of the lance. The head and shaft form a single piece and are not separate from one another. The shield (tundára) is made from a special kind of wood that Jibaros call Kamáka, and which has the property of being light and strong (Karsten 1923, 6-7). The Shield  is round and forms one single piece, and are sometimes very large. During the days they make the shield, they fast from eating a kind of sweet potato called inchi, and if this is eaten the shield will rot, be attacked by moths, and become useless ( Karsten 1923, 6). Blowguns are never used for war, but instead are only kept for hunting. It is believed that if the Jibaros kill a man with a poison dart, that poison will then become in effective in the hunt and be rendered useless.

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The Jibaro do not truly have a set person as a chief in their house hold, but in times of war, or threat, the tribe elects a war chief or elder to lead the tribe into victory and provide leadership to the community. Each of the families eldest father is considered the ruler of chief of the house hold in periods of peace. The temporary chief of war is called the Unta, which means “old one”, and should be an experienced warrior who has killed many of enemy and captured many heads in battle. In times of war an election is held to determine the chief , where mainly one rule of that the contestants have had to kill at least one enemy.

Causes of war for the Jibaro tend to vary from reason to revenge. The Jibaro are by nature impulsive and choleric ( Karsten 1923, 8) which makes them an aggressive force to be dealt with. Disputes and quarries are easily started amongst the Jibaro tribe, and with foreign tribes due to this nature. According to the Jibaro, sorcery is the common means for murder within the tribe, which makes the professional sorcerers or medicine man at fault in cases of murder or unexplained death. These sorcerers commonly fall victim to revengeful murder by the family of the decease. Another way feud may arise is over women, the Jibaro are polygamist and very jealous over their wives. Adulteress are severely punished within the tribe, and the wife who was suspected of cheating on her husband is usually stabbed with her husband’s lance or knife. If the dead wife’s family believes she was innocent, the father and brothers would take revenge on the husband by mutilating his body until death. Another way feud arises over women is due to another man, either within the tribe or from a foreign tribe, coming into the household and
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seducing the wife or kidnapping her. The vengeful husband would then go after the man
responsible  for this crime to kill him. This may then cause a war either between tribes or house holds over this issue, but if it is within the tribe the heads or not taken, because it is taboo to take the head of people who are related. With the different tribes in the regions inhabited by the Jibaros there exists perpetual enmity and destructive wars between them, especially with neighboring tribes ( Karsten 1923, 14). Any threat to the Jibaro are at risk for attack where the Jibaro will then raid the village in attack killing the enemy and capturing their heads for trophies.

The shrunken head trophies are a highly prized possession amongst Jibaro warriors, and serve as proof that there ancestors or fallen ones have been avenged (Steward 1948, 624). It is rule in Jibaro society that upon victory, over an opponent from a foreign tribe, that the opponent’s head is to be removed and taken as a trophy and then shrunk upon returning home. Also upon returning home the warrior should then have a feast, but this is not all the time required, because sometimes the warrior may be too poor to afford the food and alcohol for the feast. The head feast opens a road to honor and fame for the warrior ( Karsten 1923, 29), and can result in a vast material wealth and long life for the warrior. The shrunken heads (tsantsas) are prepared in a certain way upon returning home so that it may be kept as a trophy for the victor. The skin is cut and removed from the skull, the lips are pinned or sewed together, and the whole head skin is boiled with a plant which shrinks it and fixes the hair ( Steward 1948, 625). The way it is further shrunken is by placing hot stones and inside the skin, and then it is smoked and
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polished, and finally placed inside a jar.

There are many different feasts and ceremonies that take place upon the tribes victory with a war. The washing of the blood takes immediately upon return home of the victors. The victors must go through a purification process which is connected with a small feast, which is called numbuimartinyu, which consists of their legs being coated with chicken blood ( Karsten 1923, 35). The Suamartinyu, “the feast of painting with Genipa”, takes place three to four months after the washing of the blood. The principal ceremony at this feast is the washing of the trophy heads from the war in a magical solution, which will make the spirit of the dead enemy a slave. At the ceremony a swine is slaughtered, and a priest, whuéa, helps the slayer dress, cuts his hair, makes him break his fast, and then paints his body ( Karsten 1923, 43). The object of the feast is to provide the warrior with protection from the slain enemies spirit.

The Tsantsa feast, or Einsupani, which is a drinking feast, where the slayer is the main person at the feast and he is entitled mangértoma, “the one who has killed”, and then as a host at the feast he is then called “Heindinyu”. The feast may also be called tsantsa yuoma, which means the eating of the tsantsa. This comes from when a Jibaro hates certain enemy who he wants to kill, he tells that enemy Yuotahei, “I will eat him”, which could be a reference to an early point in Jibaro Indians when they may have been cannibalistic ( Karsten 1923, 79).  The final Tsantsa feast will take place about a year too two years later according to how much the victor wishes to prepare for this event .
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All preparations for the feast are done by the slayer , who is also the host for this feast. Due to this, he has multiple reprehensive duties. About two months before the feast the women make many clay vessels needed for the ceremony. The Wuimenshi is a song played with shrill whistles in sung at the feast to honor the warrior. There is a dance that takes place with this song also. Manioc beer and Manioc wine is heavily associated with this feast. Three days prior to the feast the manioc beer and wine are prepared, the manioc beer is served to the many guests to be drunk, and the manioc wine is saved to be served at the end of the feast. The slayer must participate in the preparation of the manioc beer where he puts his own mixture into the brew ( Karsten 1923, 56). The slaughter of the swine is yet another pivotal point in the feast. The slaughtering of the swine takes place upon the last night before the last day of the feast. The flesh should be cooked around midnight to signify the start of the new day. On the last day of the feast the slayer yet again meets with the priest and dawns his festive dress of which he wore in the first part of the feast. The beginning of the ceremony, the carrying of the seats, and the bringing of the Tsantsa placed upon a shield is exactly the same as when the trophy was first washed          ( Karsten 1923, 83). Upon the shield there are, pots containing tobacco juice, a small red ochre, three twisted cotton strings, of which will be attached to the mouth of the head, and a knife. After this a drinking ceremony takes place the banquet is held where the swine is then consumed by the party. Following the banquet the priest distributes what is left of the manioc wine to the men ( Karsten 1923, 86). Upon the final ceremony the priest cuts the hair of the slayer on last time and paints his body yet again. The hair and jar of paint are then placed upon the shield, and the priest then addresses the rest of the men telling them
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that they too will be part of this ceremony one day. The night of the last day the slayer commences his last dance then bathes in the river.

After the feast the Jibaro warrior may then take a journey, lasting three to four days, where he stays alone in the forest drinking tobacco water and bathing everyday. He then sleeps in a small hut which is called the “dreaming hut”. As soon as all of his black body paint is completely bathed off, he returns home and then partakes in drinking a narcotic called maikoa in order to see if there is still enemies that oppose a threat to him.

Section 2: Cannibalism in South America
In this section I will look into the Tupinamba Indians. What will be discussed is why cannibalism was practiced, was this a main source of food for the tribes that practiced cannibalism, and how these tribes were viewed. Cannibalism is a very rough subject to be looked at in modern society, because cannibalism is deemed unethical and looked down upon in most societies around the world. It appears that for the Tupian tribes in the Brazilian Amazon it was widely practiced and deemed necessary to be practiced on your enemies, and was widely seen as a form of revenge and was a way of providing food to the tribe at the same time.

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The Tupinamba
The Tupinamba were made famous for their cannibalistic practices in Han Staden’s account. The Tupinamba are masters of the shore from the mouth of the Amazon to Cananéa in the south of São Paulo (Steward 1948, 95). The villages would consist of four to eight communal houses built around a main plaza. In the plaza is where religious life  perused and was also deemed the communities center. The tribe was mainly nudist and would only wear feather ornaments.

Religious and social status was in high consideration and placed upon warfare. The political power became derived from the ritual killing of the war prisoners, which was far reaching in influence and even effected sexual life (Steward 1948, 119).  Their practice of cannibalism keep them and local tribes at a constant state of warfare with each other. Upon arrival of the Europeans, many Tupi tribes took sides with the different Europeans inhabiting the area, and would use the whites in warfare against each other in order to practice cannibalism on the other tribes. Many of times at war the Tupinamba would only try to injure their opponent in order to capture them to take them back to the village in order to consume the prisoner. Upon capture of the prisoner, the festivities and practice appeared joyful, and this was a time of happiness in the community. Also the women and men would display varied emotions and displays to the prisoner.

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The prisoners preparation for consumption would consist of being dressed as Tupinamba, having there foreheads shaved, feathers glued to the body, and feather ornaments being displayed on the prisoner (Steward 1948, 120). They were then paraded to the sites of recently deceased in the community which was believed to cleanse the prisoner. Then the prisoner was presented with ornaments and weapons of the dead.

As the prisoner would enter the village, the women would flock to him and take him from the warriors and began to chant a captive song and dance around the prisoner. The prisoner was then given to a son or a relative as a present from the warrior who captured him, who then slaughtered the prisoner. Prisoners may have also been traded for personal effects or other goods amongst villagers. The prisoners status of how long he will be alive before he was slaughtered was displayed by a cotton rope of which was tied around the prisoners neck, where the length of the rope displayed how long the prisoner had to live. The rope may have also been laced with beads which may have also displayed how many months he had to live before being eaten.

The fate of being eaten was deemed the way of death for the brave warrior of who has lost their liberty. In drinking bouts portions of the prisoners body might have been allotted to carousers, where they would have learned of which part of his body they would receive in the ceremony (Steward 1948, 122). The council were given the duty of choosing the date of execution, and would often send invitations to friendly neighboring communities.
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Upon the day of execution, the prisoner was dragged out into the plaza and was given the chance to take revenge on his enemies by throwing fruit or pottery shards at members of the village. A fire was then lit and the prisoner would then be shown the ceremonial club of which will used to kill him. Then the men of the village would handle the club for a bit before handing it to the elder who would perform some ritual rights with it. The elder would then hand the club to the executioner who would then harangue with the prisoner (Steward 1948, 124). The execution consisted of a cruel game because the prisoner had the liberty to dodge the blows from the club. Upon strike the skull would have been shattered killing the victim, and causing a roar of rejoice over the crowd. The prisoners wife would cry over her dead husband, but soon after join in the cannibalistic feast. The elder women of the community would then drink the blood of the fallen while it was still warm. The body would then be cut up and roasted over the fire, were sometimes the old women who may have been very eager to taste the human flesh would lick the grease off the sticks used to roast the victim. The executioner, after his killing blow, would run to his hut as though he was trying to escape his victims spirit. The flesh of the victim being consumed was seen as taboo for the executioner to consume or take. It can be noted that the victim served as a source of food for the community, and the practice of cannibalism was a way to provide nourishment to the citizens.

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Conclusion
In a sense, warfare and cannibalism goes hand and hand with many of the Amazonian tribes. Whether or not those tribes still practice the act of cannibalism they still may have practices that are related to cannibalism in a sense. This was clearly seen with the Jibaro Indians in there practice of head hunting and how they would tell enemies that they wanted to eat them. Warfare can also be seen as a shaping tool for South America, and the way that it is seen in this sense is how the advancement of warfare provided a gateway for one culture to take over another or display dominance allowing that civilization to advance upward.

References
Karsten, Rafael. 1923. Blood Revenge, War, and Victory Feasts Among the Jibaro Indians of Eastern Ecuador. Washington Government Printing Office.

Staden, Hans. 2008, edited. Hans Staden’s True History.  Duke University press.

Steward, Julian. 1948. Handbook of South American Indians Volume 3: The Tropical Forest Tribes. Washington: United States Government Printing Office.

H.E Anthony, October 1921. http://www.head-hunter.com/jivaro.html. Visited on 12/1/09.