On 19 February 2025, the 16 skulls taken in 1876 by N. N. Miklouho-Maclay Sr. (1846-1888) to Australia for anthropological research were returned to their homeland. The initiator and organizer of the restitution was his descendant and namesake Nickolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr., Head of the Miklouho-Maclay Foundation and the Center for the Study of the South Pacific Region, Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
The story, which began a century and a half ago, ended on 19 February 2025.
16 skulls of ancestors of the inhabitants of six villages on the Maclay Coast were delivered from Sydney (Australia) to Madang (Papua New Guinea). And then the skulls were delivered by motorboat, covering 17 nautical miles, to Gorendu, Maclay Coast, Papua New Guinea.
“About 700 people from several villages at once gathered for the ceremony. Madang Governor Ramsay Pariwa also arrived. The descendants of those whose skulls were returned after 150 years were given the opportunity to look at the remains of their ancestors and bid them farewell before burial.
A special song was performed to honor the return. This song is usually performed when a tribesman dies. It expresses happiness that the ancestors have returned to their homeland, but also sorrow and sadness,” says Nickolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr.
And this story began during one of the expeditions of the great Russian scientist and traveler N. N. Miklouho-Maclay in the late XIX century. Setting out to prove that Papua New Guineans were the same people as other races, he collected the skulls of Maclay Coast natives and took them to Australia to continue his research.
He later donated the skulls to the Macleay Museum, now the Chau Chak Wing Museum at the University of Sydney, where they were stored until 2025. The collection was discovered in 2023 by Nickolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr. “While working with the archives and materials stored at the museum, I inspected the materials on the collection of 16 skulls, some of which had names signed below: Andan, Ibor, Kake, Panake – people who lived on the Maclay Coast in the XIX century. And I became interested in restitution of the remains”, – says Nickolay.
Having organized negotiations with the museum staff, Jude Philp, Senior Curator, Macleay Collections and the Director Michael Dagostino, Nickolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr. found out that they were not against the return of the skulls to their homeland, Papua New Guinea, but this required legal ground, and the task of finding descendants they considered impossible.
Having set off on another expedition in April 2024, Nicolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr. set the goal of finding the descendants by researching their clan histories and negotiate with the locals to find out their interest in returning the skulls.
“I was impressed by the fact that the locals remembered absolutely all their ancestors and immediately answered me “who, what, where and when,” says Nickolay. “As a result, I got the video interviews recorded. In addition, they asked me to represent them in Australia in order to return the skulls“.
To start the restitution process written appeals from the descendants to the Australian museum were prepared, where they also authorized the Russian scientist to represent their interests.
Nickolay Miklouho-Maclay Jr. involved in the process the Papua New Guinea Parliament Members, Madang Governor Ramsey Pariwa, Prime Minister James Marape, the media in Australia and Russia, the Senior leadership of the University of Sydney, the Chau Chak Wing Museum, Jude Philp (Senior Curator), as well as Jack Simbou, Kosek and Bonem, representing the local community.
The day-to-day collaboration was not without its challenges, but despite the difficulties, the parties managed to find solutions.
For more information: https://youtu.be/U9bOxI9y7i0
Extra links:
