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Dutch return head of Ghana king Dutch return head of Ghana king
(10 minutes later)
Dutch officials are handing back to Ghana the head of a king who was executed by colonists in the 1830s. Dutch officials have handed back to Ghana the head of a king who was executed by colonists in the 1830s.
A ceremony is being held in The Hague to hand over the head of Badu Bonsu II, which had been stored in formaldehyde in a Dutch museum. Tribal elders led a ceremony in The Hague to hand over the head of Badu Bonsu II, stored in formaldehyde in a Dutch museum for 170 years.
The king, who was leader of the Ahanta group, is believed to have been decapitated in retaliation for the killing of two Dutch emissaries.The king, who was leader of the Ahanta group, is believed to have been decapitated in retaliation for the killing of two Dutch emissaries.
Ghana had said the king would not be at rest if the head remained where it was. Some believe the king would not be at rest unless his head was returned.
King Bonsu is thought to have been executed after the two officials were killed during a rebellion against European rule in the country, hanging their heads on his throne as a trophy. Several Ghanaian traditional leaders - including a descendant of the king - held an emotional ritual during the handover at the Dutch foreign ministry.
At some point, the king's head was taken from Ghana to the Netherlands, and has been kept in a jar of formaldehyde at the Leiden University Medical Centre ever since. AFP news agency reported that they poured alcohol on the floor of the conference room while invoking the chief's spirit.
After hearing of the head's location in 2008, Ghana filed a request for its return, saying if it remained unburied the king would be incomplete and therefore "hunted in the afterlife". "It is because of the injustice meted out to our people that our great king, who was fighting for his people, was murdered," said Nana Kwekwe Darko III, who led the ceremony.
Earlier this year Ghanaian historian Robert Addo-Fening told the BBC that the Netherlands' decision was "very, very important". The Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement that King Bonsu had killed two Dutch officials in 1838 and was "handed over by his own nation" to colonialists.
"When people die and their bodies are not found and buried, it leaves a lingering fear that they will not find rest with their ancestors until this is done," he said. 'Hunted in the afterlife'
"As he was a king, putting his head on display would amount to some form of humiliation for his people - but they now have an opportunity to show some reverence to their late king before they bury him. Arthur Japin, a Dutch author who researched King Bonsu, says the head was brought to the Netherlands, possibly by mistake, shortly after the king was killed.
"I imagine that this will be a a good thing for the psyche of the community." A Dutch general had been asked to bring back "heads" from Ghana to be studied by a famous phrenologist - a scientist who believes the character of a person can be determined by the shape of the skull.
"He probably meant just some drawings of different types of people but the general took this literally and he took the head and put it in formaldehyde and put it on the ship," Mr Japin told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
During the voyage home the general died, and he too was preserved in formaldehyde.
On the expedition's return, King Bonsu's head was given to the Leiden University Medical Centre, where it has been ever since.
After hearing of the head's location in 2008, Ghana filed a request for its return, saying if it remained unburied, the king would be incomplete and therefore "hunted in the afterlife".
The traditional leaders are due to return to Ghana with the head on Friday.