The article focuses an indian myth about a flying and voracious head, that was told to the author by several indian tribes from the Amazon, such as the Tupari, the Macurap, the Jabuti, the Aruá, the Sateré-Mawé. Each version has a different plot, but the intriguing theme is always the same: the mutilation of the body, a head that is transformed or attaches itself to another being. The essay delves into the meaning of this myth, to which Claude Lévi-Strauss dedicated a good portion of his two important books, L'origine des manières de table and La potière jalouse, and that was used by Mário de Andrade in his classic book about Brazilian hero, Macunaína, one of the few works of fiction to have been inspired by mythicalindian themes and characters. Reporting this myth is just a small part of a large project of documentation of myths and traditions of Brazilian indians that author has been working on for several years. The aim of this text is to show the rich imagination of Brazilian indians, and to insist on the need to document contemporary cultures that are still widely unknown. Brazilian art and fiction could enlarge their universe by exploring and trying to understant the heritage left to us by over two hundred different indian tribes. It is also important fot the indians to reaffirm their ethnic identity, and enhance the worth their participation in Brazilian society, by writing, telling and spreading these myths, and by using them in their schools.
