Paris: France has returned three human skulls to Madagascar, more than a century after they were taken during the colonial period, including one believed to be that of a Madagascan king executed by French forces.
The remains, presumed to include the skull of King Toera, who was decapitated in 1897, along with two others from the Sakalava ethnic group were formally handed over at a ceremony at the French Ministry of Culture in Paris.
A joint scientific committee confirmed that all three skulls originated from the Sakalava people but said it could only presume one belonged to King Toera. The handover comes with growing demands from countries worldwide, including Australia and Argentina, for the restitution of ancestral remains held in European museums.
The skulls were part of the collection at Paris’s Musée de l’Homme, where nearly a third of its 30,000 specimens are skulls and skeletons from across the globe.
During a visit to Madagascar in April, French President Emmanuel Macron acknowledged France’s bloody and tragic colonial past and expressed a desire for reconciliation, speaking of seeking forgiveness. Madagascar gained independence in 1960 after more than six decades of French rule.
The remains will return to the Indian Ocean island and are set to be buried in a state-led ceremony. Madagascan Minister Mara said the government would honour the ancestral remains in a tribute coinciding with the anniversary of King Toera’s execution in August 1897.
MOST READ | Australia’s home guarantee scheme expansion faces criticism over price risks
