Fascinating interview with Schneebaum by Allan Gurganus over at the Bombsite:

The skulls in my apartment keep me in touch with my ancestors. Through them, I absorb the essence of their beliefs. Through them I gain their strength. The skulls were given to me by families that had adopted me. They were given to me over the course of many transactions, a skull for a steel axe, or, they were given to me with no apparent strings attached, nothing but friendship. The skulls now sit on shelves in one of my bookcases. They look out in all directions, viewing the Hudson River, trying to prepare themselves for whatever might be ahead. They exude an energy familiar to me. They somehow reach out and stretch their invisible muscles to touch my silence with their memories. When I open the door, I feel their breath. Their presence protects me, watches over me. I am more aware of dreaming when surrounded by my ancestors. More often than not, I remember simply that there were dreams.
One rainy day, I watched a child rolling one of the skulls on the rough flooring of the family house. It was as if he were in a bowling alley. The relationship between the boy and the ball was a warm and affectionate one. There was no fear of the dead, no horror, no disgust. Only comfort. (more)

Schneebaum is one of those rare people who actually spent time living with forest people — head hunters, cannibals for real — on their own terms, and without a film crew in attendance. Largely for this reason, although his life seems to have been packed with adventure, he was, and remains, something of a cult figure. A film, Keep The River On Your Right, A Modern Cannibal Tale was made in 2001, in which Scheembaum revisited the Amarakaire in the rain forests of Peru. I haven’t seen it, but the popmatters review makes it look deep and complicated, which is entirely appropriate. Here’s an older interview with Howard Feinstein and published in The Advocate, from around the time he made the documentary.

(via Kircher Society – more links to Schneebaum material over there: an outstanding conclusion to an outstanding Death Week)