skullbearing

Skullbearing is a term used to describe the practice or status of bearing skulls as part of ritual, ceremonial, or symbolic activity. In ethnographic and historical contexts, skullbearing refers to the carrying, display, or adornment of human skulls as trophies or sacred objects; the exact meaning and method vary across cultures and periods.

Forms of skullbearing range from carrying skulls on belts or in bundles to displaying skulls in shrines or on ceremonial racks, to wearing skull motifs on headdresses or clothing. In many societies, skullbearing is associated with notions of conquest, ancestor worship, protective power, or social rank; the skulls may be those of enemies, predecessors, or ritual subjects, depending on local beliefs. The practice is often tied to rites of passage, warfare symbolism, or ritual memory.

In contemporary usage, skullbearing appears in fantasy literature, film, and games as a device for world-building or to signal brutality or a warrior culture. In scholarly writing, it is treated as a cultural artifact that reveals how communities understand death, memory, and power. The term is less a standardized discipline category than a descriptive label that can encompass a range of related practices.

See also: headhunting, trophy skull, ritual display, ancestor veneration. References to skullbearing appear in ethnographic and historical literature on skull trophies and ritual display, as well as in analyses of how such imagery is used in modern media and fiction.