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| Madagascar's King Toera: France returns skull of monarch killed during colonial era | Madagascar's King Toera: France returns skull of monarch killed during colonial era |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Descendants of King Toera have been pushing for France to return his skull, which was handed over at a ceremony at the French culture ministry | Descendants of King Toera have been pushing for France to return his skull, which was handed over at a ceremony at the French culture ministry |
| The head of a Malagasy king killed by French troops during a colonial-era war has been formally returned to Madagascar. | The head of a Malagasy king killed by French troops during a colonial-era war has been formally returned to Madagascar. |
| The handover of King Toera's skull - and those of two other members of his court - took place at a ceremony at the culture ministry in Paris. | The handover of King Toera's skull - and those of two other members of his court - took place at a ceremony at the culture ministry in Paris. |
| The skulls had been brought to France at the end of the 19th Century and stored at the Museum of Natural History in the French capital. | |
| It is the first use of a new law meant to expedite the return of human remains from collections in France. | It is the first use of a new law meant to expedite the return of human remains from collections in France. |
| "These skulls entered the national collections in circumstances that clearly violated human dignity and in a context of colonial violence," French Culture Minister Rachida Dati is quoted by the AFP agency as saying at the ceremony. | |
| In August 1897, a French force sent to assert colonial control over the Menabé kingdom of the Sakalava people in western Madagascar massacred a local army. | In August 1897, a French force sent to assert colonial control over the Menabé kingdom of the Sakalava people in western Madagascar massacred a local army. |
| King Toera was killed and decapitated: his head sent to Paris where it was placed in the archives of the Museum of Natural History. | King Toera was killed and decapitated: his head sent to Paris where it was placed in the archives of the Museum of Natural History. |
| Nearly 130 years later pressure from the king's descendants as well as the government of the Indian Ocean nation has opened the way for the skull's return. | Nearly 130 years later pressure from the king's descendants as well as the government of the Indian Ocean nation has opened the way for the skull's return. |
| Madagascar's Culture Minister Volamiranty Donna Mara, who also gave a speech at the handover, said their return was a "significant gesture", AFP reports. | |
| "Their absence has been, for more than a century... an open wound in the heart of our island," she said. | |
| It is not the first time human remains from the colonial era have been given back by France. | It is not the first time human remains from the colonial era have been given back by France. |
| Most famous was the South African woman cruelly nicknamed the "Hottentot Venus" who had once been put on display in Europe and whose body was taken home in 2012. | Most famous was the South African woman cruelly nicknamed the "Hottentot Venus" who had once been put on display in Europe and whose body was taken home in 2012. |
| But this is the first return under a recent law which makes the process much easier. | But this is the first return under a recent law which makes the process much easier. |
| It is estimated that at the Museum of Natural History alone there are more than 20,000 human remains brought to France from around the world for supposedly scientific reasons. | It is estimated that at the Museum of Natural History alone there are more than 20,000 human remains brought to France from around the world for supposedly scientific reasons. |
| You may also be interested in: | You may also be interested in: |
| Why is a Tanzanian chief's skull mentioned in the Versailles Treaty? | Why is a Tanzanian chief's skull mentioned in the Versailles Treaty? |
| The Tanzanians searching for their grandfathers' skulls in Germany | The Tanzanians searching for their grandfathers' skulls in Germany |
| Germany returns skulls of Namibian genocide victims | Germany returns skulls of Namibian genocide victims |
| Ghana, Nigeria and the quest for UK looted treasure | Ghana, Nigeria and the quest for UK looted treasure |
| A guide to Africa's 'looted treasures' | A guide to Africa's 'looted treasures' |
| Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. | Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. |
| Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica | Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica |