Scalping
Scalping is a historical practice that involved the removal of the scalp from a person's head, primarily associated with various Indigenous tribes in North America and parts of South America. This custom is believed to have existed before European contact, with evidence suggesting it was deeply rooted in Indigenous warfare traditions and spiritual beliefs. While scalping was a widespread practice among many tribes, it was not universally adopted, and its significance varied across cultures. The act of scalping was often ritualized, with specific customs surrounding the care and display of scalps, which many tribes viewed as embodiments of the enemy's spirit or identity.
With the arrival of Europeans, particularly the French and English, scalping became more prevalent due to bounties offered for enemy scalps, which introduced new racial connotations to the practice. In Indigenous cultures, scalping was connected to spiritual beliefs, warfare, and sometimes economic motives, but European influences altered its perception significantly. The practice also included ceremonial components, such as scalp dances to honor those who took scalps and to celebrate victories. Overall, scalping reflects a complex interplay of cultural meanings, beliefs about identity and spirituality, and the impacts of colonial encounters.
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Subject Terms
Scalping
- TRIBES AFFECTED: Tribes in most cultural areas of Canada, the United States, and South America
- SIGNIFICANCE: Scalping appears to have been a widespread custom of Indigenous warfare that antedated European contact; it is often connected with spirit-keeping traditions
Scalping was a widely diffused warfare custom among many Indigenous tribes in the United States, Canada, and South America. Strong evidence suggests that scalping was an aboriginal custom predating the arrival of Europeans. However, Europeans, particularly the French and English, did eventually encourage scalp-taking and paid bounties to Indigenous allies for enemy scalps. Scalping seems to have become more widespread after the arrival of Europeans.
The earliest European records carry accounts of scalping from widely different areas of the Americas. These European accounts express surprise at the practice of scalping, and they attempt to document and explain the ritualized customs connected with scalping. Indigenous languages from many Indigenous American cultural areas also contain extensive and precise language referring to the scalp, the act of scalping, and the victim of scalping. Also widely diffused among tribes is the common hairdressing practice of wearing a small braid or a lock of hair on the crown of the head. This scalp lock was often adorned with paint or ornaments, marking achievements or honors. Hair, because it continues to grow throughout a person’s lifetime, was commonly believed to be visual evidence that an individual’s soul or spirit was a living thing. It was a commonly held belief among many tribes that the scalp lock was synonymous with a person’s identity or soul, and it represented the metaphysical part of the individual’s being. Therefore, it was a grave insult to touch the scalp lock casually.
The physical act of scalping consisted of grabbing the braid of the scalp lock with one hand and cutting a circle about 2 to 3 inches in diameter around the base of it with a knife; a quick jerk tore the scalp from the skull. Scalps were taken from dead and wounded enemies, but the act of scalping was not fatal. If a living person was scalped, the skin grew over the wound, but hair did not. Among many tribes, those who survived a scalping were feared because the physical emanation of the soul had been taken. Although complex, scalping was part of a broader set of traditions involving taking several body parts as trophies. These trophy-taking customs were modified but continued with the arrival of the Europeans. With the Europeans, scalping took on racial implications, whereas, among Indigenous peoples, it had been connected to spirituality, warfare, and economic motivations. Further, while scalping was more widespread than once believed, it was not practiced among all Indigenous peoples and was more common with some tribes than others.
There were many elaborate customs connected with the taking and care of scalps, and these extended broadly across cultural groups. A common practice was to stretch the scalp on a small hoop and then attach it to a long pole, bridle, or an item of clothing. Most tribes who practiced scalping had a victory dance (often referred to as a “scalp dance”) in which the scalps were displayed, and the scalp takers were honored for their bravery. Many Indigenous Americans considered the scalp a living spirit of the enemy and, therefore, practiced spirit-keeping rituals. The spirit-keeping rituals varied from tribe to tribe, but the scalp lock was essentially cared for because it represented the individual's soul, a respected enemy. The scalp lock was sometimes painted, washed, wrapped in a bundle, or buried on the battlefield. There is also evidence that among some tribes that scalps were taken to desecrate a hated enemy because they would forever wander on this earth if they died an incomplete person.
Bibliography
Dolan, Marlene. "History Perpetuates Scalping Myth." AMMSA, 1993, www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/history-perpetuates-scalping-myth. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Magliari, Michael F. "The California Indian Scalp Bounty Myth: Evidence of Genocide or Just Faulty Scholarship?" California History, vol. 100, no. 2, 2023, pp. 4-30, doi.org/10.1525/ch.2023.100.2.4. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.
Williams, Joseph A. "The Origins of Scalping: A True and Surprising History." OldWest.org, 17 May 2023, www.oldwest.org/origins-of-scalping. Accessed 30 Sept. 2024.