The University of Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum is set to return 39 Naga ancestral remains taken from India during the colonial era, marking an important step towards addressing the legacy of colonial-era collecting and respecting the wishes of Indigenous communities. The news of its return was announced by the museum on Monday. The remains are believed to have been collected from Naga communities in present-day Nagaland during the period of British colonial rule.
Oxford University's Pitt Rivers Museum to return Naga ancestral remains
On Monday, the museum announced that it will return 39 Naga ancestral remains which were taken during Britain's colonial era to the Naga community in Northeast India. The museum holds the world's largest collection of Naga artefacts. The announcement came after the university approved a restitution request by the FNR (the Forum for Naga Reconciliation). The human remains were collected in the early 20th century by British colonial administrators, and some remained on public display until 2020.
Their presence in a European museum has long raised questions about the circumstances under which human remains were removed from their communities and taken overseas.
Museum is working closely with Naga community
The decision to return the remains follows engagement between the museum and representatives of Naga communities. The repatriation is expected to allow the ancestral remains to be brought back to their homeland and treated according to Naga cultural traditions and customary practices. According to the museum, the artefacts have been away from the homeland for quite a long time. Pitt Rivers Museum said that the request covered 40 sets of human remains.
Oxford University approved the return of 39 of them on July 13, concluding that one specimen "does not have a clear provenance as Naga". The museum is working closely with the Naga community to finalise a date which has not been confirmed. In 2022, London's Horniman Museum returned 72 artefacts to Nigeria, including 12 Benin bronze artefacts.
Significance for Naga communities
The Pitt Rivers Museum has previously acknowledged the complex history surrounding its collections and has undertaken efforts to work with communities seeking the return of human remains and other culturally sensitive materials.
For Naga communities, the return carries cultural and emotional significance. Ancestral remains are closely connected with identity, heritage and traditional beliefs, making their return more than a museum-related process. It represents an opportunity to restore an important connection between communities and their ancestors.
