Madagascar celebrated a ceremony on Tuesday that marked the return of three skulls held by France for 128 years, including one that is believed to be that of a Malgache king decapitated by the French troops in the 19th century.
France delivered the skulls in Paris on August 27 in the first restitution since it approved a law in 2023 that facilitates the return of the human remains taken during their colonial conquests.
It is believed that the skulls belong to King Tora, leader of the people of Sakalava, who was beheaded by the French troops in 1897, and two of his warriors.
They arrived in Madagascar on Monday night and were received at the airport by members of the Sakalava group dressed in traditional robes.
Held in three boxes covered with the flag of the Nation of the Indian Ocean, the skulls were led by the Antananarivo capital to the city mausoleum on Tuesday, where they were received by President Andry Rajoelina and a government meeting and dignitaries of Sakalava.
They will continue their road trip to the west coast of Belo Tsiribihina, about 320 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital, where they are expected to be buried at the end of this week.
The skulls were taken to France as trophies and remained in the National History Museum of Paris along with hundreds of other remains of Madagascar, which declared independence in 1960 after more than 60 years of French colonial domain.
The French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, said in the Paris event that a joint scientific committee confirmed that they were from the town of Sakalava, but said that he could only “show off” that one belonged to King Tora.
In recent years, France has returned several artifacts taken during its imperial conquests, but increasingly required special legislation until the Parliament adopted the law that simplifies the repatriation of human remains.
Reuters miniature image – Archive image of a victim skull of the Namibia genocide
