It has come to the Forum for Naga Reconciliation’s attention that a Naga ancestral human remain listed as a “19th century horned Naga human skull” is part of a one- day sale by the Swan Fine Art at Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. The Naga human remain is valued at 3,500-4,000 UK pounds and the provenance is traced to the Ex Francios Coppens Collection from Belgium. The Naga ancestral human skull is part of an auction titled “The curious collector sale” and is catalogued alongside antiquarian books, manuscripts, paintings, jewelry, ceramics and furniture.
The Forum for Naga Reconciliation condemns this inhumane and violent practice where Indigenous ancestral human remains continue to be collector’s items in the 21st century. The Naga human remains were taken without people’s consent – in effect appropriated – by colonial administrators and soldiers who occupied the Naga homeland in the 19th century even as Naga villages resisted British punitive expeditions. These human remains symbolize the violence that the British colonial power unleashed on the Nagas. Throughout the period of British rule, the Naga people were defined as ‘savages’ and ‘headhunters’, which are insulting tropes that continue to be perpetuated today.
We are offended and deeply hurt that the skull of a Naga ancestor is being auctioned by an art dealer in the United Kingdom. Such auctions continue the policy of dehumanization and colonial violence on the Naga people. The auction highlights the impunity that descendants of European colonizers enjoy as they perpetuate a racist, colonial, and violent depiction of Naga people. This is counterintuitive to the Naga search for dignity, healing and reconciliation; and for rehumanization from the colonial project. Furthermore, it contravenes Article 15 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) which says that, “Indigenous Peoples have a right to the dignity and diversity of their cultures, traditions, histories and aspirations which shall be appropriately reflected in education and public information.”
We denounce this injustice and urge the authorities to ensure that the Naga people’s voices are heard by immediately stopping the October 9, 2024 auction. There have been precedents when such sales were stopped and we highlight two examples: the sale of Egyptian human skulls, and the withdrawal of the sale of skeletal remains in Angus, Scotland.
This matter is also at the heart of an ethical stand that international governments, including those in the United Kingdom and India, must consider. The United Kingdom and India, who are both signatories of UNDRIP, must in consonance with Article 15 of the UNDRIP take effective measures in consultation and cooperation with the Indigenous peoples concerned to combat prejudice and eliminate discrimination and to promote tolerance, understanding and good relations. This is a defining moment for us the governments of respective countries to join hands with the Naga people to recraft a story of the Naga ancestral human remains and bring them back to the Naga homeland.
We have also been made aware of other human remains from Nigeria, Benin, Congo, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands which are part of the auction. We express our solidarity to other peoples and communities who are being dehumanized along with the Nagas in such a manner.
While calling for the immediate stop of the auction, the Forum for Naga Reconciliation in consonance with Article 12 of the UNDRIP seeks to exercise the right to repatriate ancestral human remains. We, further ask the governments of the United Kingdom and India to implement Article 12 by enabling access and/or repatriation of human remains in their possession through fair, transparent and effective mechanisms developed in conjunction with indigenous peoples concerned.
Wati Aier
Convenor,
Forum for Naga Reconciliation
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