Zimbabweans Haunted By Angry Ancestors Whose Remains Were Taken To UK - Activist
Accountant and activist Vusi Nyamazana says Zimbabweans are haunted by their ancestors, who are angry because the remains of many warriors who fought and died during the 1890s uprising against British colonial rule were never recovered. The skulls of many Zimbabweans from the colonial period ended up in the UK either as trophies or for scientific study.
Bring Back Our Bones (BBOB), a campaign group, aims to recover the missing remains of the uprising’s heroes so that their spirits can rest. The group formed branches in several countries and petitioned the British government.
Zimbabwe’s government offered to return the body of Cecil Rhodes in exchange for the skulls of the warriors, but UK’s foreign office denied having the remains. Zimbabwean authorities suspect that the remains of some leaders of an uprising against British rule in the 1890s (1st Chimurenga), including Charwe Nyakasikana, known as Mbuya Nehanda, were taken to the UK as trophies. Other skulls reportedly in UK museums and displayed as trophies of war belong to:
i). Sekuru Kaguvi,
ii). Chingaira Makoni,
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iii). Chinengundu,
iv). Mashayamombe,
v). Mapondera,
vi). Mashonganyika, and
vii). Chitekedza Chiwashira.
However, London’s Natural History Museum denied having Nehanda’s skull, and although it has uncovered 11 remains that appear to be from Zimbabwe, its records do not connect them with Nehanda.
BBOB is part of an emerging frontier in the wider restitution struggle, as campaigners turn their attention to body parts that were plundered and transferred to museums. They are calling for archives to be opened and documentation produced on the period when the bones were taken. They are considering legal action to compel transparency and intend to produce DNA samples from descendants of the warriors to match them with Zimbabwean skulls held in the UK. However, activists are aiming higher than negotiating with museums, as they believe the British monarchy, including the new monarch, is ultimately responsible. Mr Nyamazana said:
The Crown issued a Royal Charter in 1889 to [Cecil] Rhodes to conquer our lands. Everything he did was in the name of the Crown. It is in this regard that we hold the Crown vicariously liable and answerable for these crimes that were committed.
We are appealing to the Crown to make amends by instructing her subjects to seek our skulls and return them.
There are signs that attitudes towards the return of human remains are changing. Such developments are welcomed by campaigners seeking to be reunited with lost relatives, as the issue is considered both a moral and spiritual one. They believe that the remains belong to them and should be given proper funerals.
Museums and state institutions across the Western world have vast collections of remains, including ritualistically shrunken heads from Latin America, Egyptian sarcophagi, and skulls of anti-colonial fighters. Many of these remains were used in race science exhibits that reflected the racist belief in European superiority during colonialism.
