French forces took the remains of King Toera and two other Sakalava people in 1897.
The troops beheaded King Toera during a colonial-era massacre in the village of Ambiky.
French forces transported the skulls to France as war trophies, and Paris’s National Museum of Natural History has since stored them.
A NEW ERA FOR RECONCILIATION
France conducted its first repatriation under the new 2023 law. The legislation simplifies the process for returning human remains from public collections.
French Culture Minister Rachida Dati stated the skulls’ acquisition “violated human dignity” and occurred in “colonial violence”.
HEALING A WOUNDED NATION
Madagascar’s Culture Minister, Volamiranty Donna Mara, called the handover “an immensely significant gesture.”
She said that the island has felt an open wound in its heart for over a century due to their absence.
A joint scientific committee examined the skulls’ return, but inconclusive tests led a traditional spirit medium to confirm they belonged to the Sakalava.
PRESIDENTIAL PARDON AND FUTURE RETURNS
French President Emmanuel Macron has acknowledged past colonial abuses in Africa.
During an April visit to Madagascar, Macron spoke of seeking “forgiveness” for France’s “bloody and tragic” colonisation.
France will return the remains to Madagascar on 30 August 2025 for burial.
WHAT DOES THIS HISTORIC RETURN MEAN FOR OTHER COLONIAL-ERA ARTEFACTS?
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