Scalp is a word originally applied to a war trophy prized in North American Indian culture. Nowadays, the word refers to the skin cut off from the head so that the hair is preserved on it. The most common use of the word is the phrase "scalp."
Historical summary
What it means to "scalp" used to be known only to the redskins. Real Indians, the first inhabitants of North America knew how to kill enemies and get trophies from their fallen bodies. What happened in practice? White people, having invaded America, not only took over land from the local population, but also military skills and abilities. In particular, the pale-faced warriors quickly learned how to scalp. Photos of paintings dedicated to this story exist in large numbers.
When scalped, the victim could survive. This practice has existed since ancient times, and European, Asian barbarians, no worse than American ones, mastered the technique of ridding the enemy of the upper covers of the head. By the way, this was invented even before the American Indians thought of scalping.
The scalp is a cover removed from the head,which was then saved for specific purposes. The most ancient specimens that have survived to this day date back to 190-580 years of our era. However, other scientists say that already 4, 5 millennia ago the tribes were scalping their enemies.
Stereotypes away
The scalp is not only a war trophy, but also an important object of religious ritual. When the first colonialists arrived in the New World, they encountered local religions, having learned firsthand how different practices are among tribes in different regions of the mainland. By the way, the Athabaskans and Eskimos scalped enemies less often than others, but those who lived near the Mississippi and Florida loved this practice. But the Indians who lived in Canada did not scalp anyone at all and were civilians. The tribes that inhabited the Pacific coast did not have fun with this either.
However, over time, even those who have never been involved in scalping, joined the practice. And the reason is simple: the colonialists introduced a monetary reward for each Indian scalp - it was their attempt to cause discord among the enemies. Survival in the difficult conditions of that period led to an abundance of people who want to get easy money.
Religion of the Indians
Scalp is not a regalia or a medal, as modern people like to make comparisons. It was an important element of the religious ritual, which was timed to coincide with a great victory. Practice shows that the scalp was easily replaced with other parts of human bodies - and even bloody blankets that belonged todefeated opponents.
The scalp in the form in which it became part of the ritual began to be mined when they realized that it was much easier to move it than a whole head. And if opponents followed the tribe, and it was necessary to move quickly and imperceptibly, the heads completely interfered. Throwing trophies was impossible for the Indians, and they invented such a way out, facilitating a bloody harvest.
Besides, the head starts to rot quickly, but keeping the scalp intact before the camp, even if it takes several weeks to go there, is much easier.
By the way, the scalp was not only important religiously, it was considered a decorative ornament. They were proud of him, took care of him. But it was taken into account how the trophy was received. For example, if the fight turned out to be difficult, cruel, then the trophies obtained from it turned out to be more valuable. Rare scalps were used as decorations - say, women's, obtained from the colonialists.
Survive without a scalp
History knows cases when people learned in practice what the scalp means and how important it is. We are talking about those who survived the scalping. This happened for various reasons. Perhaps, personal unique resilience, but more often the enemies simply did not have time to finish the job, and the victim was saved.
Surprisingly, this did not mean honor for him in his native tribe, quite the contrary. For example, among the Pawnee Indians, the survivors turned into outcasts. The tribe perceived the scalped as if they were ghosts, people without the support of the gods.
Another interestinghistorical moment has reached our days. During the colonization of North America, there was one white-skinned man who was very unfortunate enough to fall into the hands of the Indians. Considering it a worthy prey, the red-skinned warrior took a scalp from the prey, but was forced to flee, leaving both the trophy and the victim itself, which at that moment had not yet expired. The man not only survived, but was able to find the layer thrown by the Indian from his head, after which he went to his own for help. The warrior managed to survive, but they could not grow the scalp back into place, it was too late. However, since then he has made a good career for himself, riding around various American places and showing everyone his head and scalp taken from it. The performances were well paid.
Scalp yourself?
Of course, a curious person wants to know if it's really possible to scalp yourself. Remember that scalping causes death:
- pain shock;
- loss of blood;
- infection.
Already the first point completely excludes the possibility of scalping your head on your own. If, for some reason, a person lacks the instinct of self-preservation and is insensitive to pain, when trying to scalp, he will probably damage the skull, which will result in instant death before the operation can be completed.
