ALBAWABA - A 19th-century tribal Indian human skull was put up for sale in the UK, before being withdrawn later due to pressure from Indian academics, activists, and politicians, AFP reports.
Swan Fine Art, located near Oxford, was offering the skull for sale as part of an unsettling collection of human bones from many Indigenous groups in South America, Asia, and Africa.
The skull was scheduled to be auctioned off with an estimated value of between $4,300 and $5,000 (or £3,500 to $4,400), however the sale was halted due to opposition from the general public.
The skeletal remains, which were ornamented with animal horns, were thought to have come from the state of Nagaland in eastern India. The sale was described as a continuation of brutality that occurred during the colonial period, and local authorities.
Chief Minister of Nagaland, Neiphiu Rio, urged that the skull be returned from the auction immediately, stating in a public letter that “The human remains of any deceased person belong to those people and their land,” urging the Indian government to intervene."
A professor at the University of California and an anthropologist who specializes in Naga culture, Dolly Kikon, brought attention to the continued challenges that indigenous tribes confront while attempting to restore their ancient ancestral history, condemning the auction as a dehumanizing practice that perpetuates racism and colonial exploitation.
“Auctioning Indigenous human remains in the 21st century shows how descendants of colonizers continue to exploit Indigenous cultures,” Kikon remarked to news agency AFP.
The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR), a civil society organization, was the driving force behind the campaign to put a stop to the sale and to demand that any Naga remains that were held in private or public collections be returned.
The largest collection of Naga artifacts is housed in Oxford's Pitt Rivers Museum, whose director, Laura Van Broekhoven, referred to the sale as “completely unethical,” according to The Independent. With the subject of recovery of Indigenous remains has garnered international attention, and pressure is mounting on museums and other institutions around Europe.
