On Tuesday, France repatriated three colonial-era skulls to Madagascar, one of which is thought to be that of a Malagasy king beheaded by French forces during a 19th-century massacre.
The skull, presumed to be that of King Toera, was returned in the first restitution of human remains since France enacted a law in 2023 to facilitate such returns, alongside those of two other individuals from the Sakalava ethnic group.
In 1897, French troops decapitated King Toera, and his skull was taken to France as a war trophy.
It was stored in Paris’s national history museum, along with hundreds of other remains from the Indian Ocean island.
“These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence,” said French Culture Minister Rachida Dati.
Madagascar’s counterpart, Volamiranty Donna Mara, hailed the repatriation as “an immensely significant gesture” that marked “a new era of cooperation” between the two nations.
“Their absence has been, for more than a century, 128 years, an open wound in the heart of our island,” she said.
A joint scientific committee verified that the skulls belonged to the Sakalava people but noted it could only “presume” that one was King Toera’s, according to Dati.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli