book chapter

Hans Staden: the true story of his captivity, 1557

George Routledge and Sons • New York • Published In 1928 • Pages:

By: Staden, Hans, ca., Letts, Malcolm Henry Ikin.

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This is one of the very earliest and best of the ethnographical records from South America. It contains excellent information on the now extinct tribe of Tupinamba, among whom Staden resided for nine months as a captive during the middle of the 16th century. Little is known about the author except what is contained in the above account. He was born in Homburg in Hesse, and in 1547 sailed from Holland for Lisbon, where he took passage on a ship bound for Brazil with a cargo of convicts. It was while in Brazil, after a series of exciting adventures, that he was taken prisoner by the Tupinamba near the present site of Rio de Janeiro. Since he had previously been aligned with the Portuguese, who were bitter enemies of the Tupinamba, upon his capture he was to have been dispatched and eaten (an Indian custom followed with reference to enemy captives), but fortunately survived the series of misfortunes to which he was subjected, subsequently escaping on a French boat which carried him to Germany where he first published this memoir in 1557, the veracity of which has never been seriously questioned. As an ethnologist, Staden had an almost unparalleled opportunity of living for nine months in a cannibalistic society which has not yet been seriously 'threatened' by the onslaught of western European civilization. He seems to have made the most of his opportunities while sojourning there. In the words of his translator, 'It would be difficult to see how a work of this description could be better arranged. In the first place we have a straightforward narrative of the author's personal adventures and misfortunes, written briefly and without straining after effect. In the second part we have a treatise on the customs of the Tupinamba… This survey is a result of the sustained and penetrating observation, and subsequent accounts have added little to the information in it.'
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
Cannibalism
Ornament
Personal grooming
Magical and mental therapy
Warfare
Aftermath of combat
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Tupinamba
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2003
RegionThe area the document pertains to
South America
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
Eastern South America
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
book chapter
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Government Official
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
3: Good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Alfred Métraux ; 1971
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1547-1555
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1549-1555
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
Santos region, São Paulo, Brazil
NotesAdditional notes
Hans Staden ; translated and edited by Malcolm Letts, with an introduction and notes
This document consists of excerpts
Translation of the author's Warhafftig historia … Marburg, 1557
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Tupinamba Indians