Posted by Foster on November 16, 2009 at 3:50am in Politics
Sweden returns 22 human skulls to Hawaii
By LOUISE NORDSTROM, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 18 mins ago
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091115/ap_on_re_eu/eu_sweden_hawaiian_remains
STOCKHOLM – With a solemn ceremony in Stockholm's antiquities museum, Sweden marked the return of 22 skulls looted from a native Hawaiian community more than a century ago.
The symbolic ceremony on Saturday — attended by guests from Hawaii and the Nordic countries' own indigenous Sami population — was part of Sweden's increased efforts to return indigenous remains collected by scientists across the world.
The Swedish government in 2005 ordered its museums to search through their collections, and has since returned more than 20 human remains, mainly to Australia.
The Hawaiian skulls had been returned privately earlier Saturday so that the Hawaiian delegates could perform a ritual according to traditional customs.
Museum director Lars Amreus said he hoped the return would help "fulfill the spiritual circle" of those whose graves had been violated by the Swedish scientists.
"We know that they were collected, although by today's standards: they were looted," Amreus said.
Greeting Amreus at the ceremony with the traditional nose-to-nose — or breath-of-life — greeting "Ha," Hawaiian delegation head William Aila thanked the Nordic country for helping to recover the remains of their ancestors.
"I cannot adequately express the thankfulness... for a very, very worthy endeavor, and that is to greet our ancestors and accompany them home," Aila said in a speech during the ceremony in the museum's round-walled "Gold Room."
Five of the skulls were returned by the museum itself, while 17 came from Stockholm's medical university Karolinska Institutet. They were not on display during the ceremony.
Aila said the skulls would "be reburied in the soil of their birth" back in Hawaii.
Of the 22 skulls, at least 15 had been taken from the Pacific islands by Swedish scientists in the 1880s during an expedition around the world. The museum received five of them through a donation in 1997, while it was unclear when Karolinska received its collection.
On Wednesday, Sweden will return to New Zealand a near complete skeleton, a skull and three skeleton parts all believed to have been from the indigenous Maori population. A similar ceremony involving representatives from the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, is planned.
You need to be a member of maoliworld to add comments!
As a resident of Waianae I will be cognizant of the collected Na Kupuna Iwi by William Aila. I would also like to enlighten you on Franz Boas the father of anthropology. When Abraham Piianaia a Director of Hawaiian studies, lecture Geography Department, Director of DHHL, and a long time certified Captain of Pacific Ocean vessels was a alive we talked. One of our conversations was about his disappointment over the handling of our Na Kupuna Iwi. Although very concern about the return to of the iwi to rest, Abe voiced his thoughts about the handling of the iwi. I believe he was upset over why and how they left in the first place. From the time of Kamehameha it was forbidden for warriors to board ships and leave the islands. For example, Henry O. although his bones were returned to Big Island, at the time of death--he was placed into the ground not a musem case for the rich to gawk at until he returned home. According to Abe his wishes were that the repatriation process for the iwi should be properly buried in their ahupuaa as a singular burial and not piled together in one hole, or bank.
Getting back to my purpose of responding to your posting, the anthropologist needs are to observe and publish the dance and games for reasons of controling technology. I just got back from a 24- hour sacred temple gathering for our Na Kupuna Iwi on Kauai. Tomorrow is Makahiki, Nov. 17 at 5:45 (approx time), we will enter the time of Lono and one must be cognizant about the rules of the game for this 'ideology' for anthropologist can easily slip into nuclear bombing negotiations without the people's consent. Which is what the temple gathering was about to right the county's/state use of certain people as pawns in their progressive game that is heading to the use of nuclear. And too, to give ho'okupu which was traditionally placed on a lele at Wailua. The offerings are still fresh and we are still on our journey with our Na Kupuna Iwi and their elements. So, I am limited to talking.
Go to Rangahau research website, one can read about proper protocol on a variety of researchers findings.
Personally, I do not give permission to anthropologist to continue desecrating our Na Kupuna Iwi. As a haumana from the Temple of Lono, I do not give my consent to continue the removal of our Na Kupuna Iwi for the purpose of observation below, above, and all sides of their human covenant soil. The survey of our living Na Kupuna should come to a dead stop and in Hawaii our Na Kupuna Iwi should be left in place and undisturbed. Kaohi
Replies
As a resident of Waianae I will be cognizant of the collected Na Kupuna Iwi by William Aila. I would also like to enlighten you on Franz Boas the father of anthropology. When Abraham Piianaia a Director of Hawaiian studies, lecture Geography Department, Director of DHHL, and a long time certified Captain of Pacific Ocean vessels was a alive we talked. One of our conversations was about his disappointment over the handling of our Na Kupuna Iwi. Although very concern about the return to of the iwi to rest, Abe voiced his thoughts about the handling of the iwi. I believe he was upset over why and how they left in the first place. From the time of Kamehameha it was forbidden for warriors to board ships and leave the islands. For example, Henry O. although his bones were returned to Big Island, at the time of death--he was placed into the ground not a musem case for the rich to gawk at until he returned home. According to Abe his wishes were that the repatriation process for the iwi should be properly buried in their ahupuaa as a singular burial and not piled together in one hole, or bank.
Getting back to my purpose of responding to your posting, the anthropologist needs are to observe and publish the dance and games for reasons of controling technology. I just got back from a 24- hour sacred temple gathering for our Na Kupuna Iwi on Kauai. Tomorrow is Makahiki, Nov. 17 at 5:45 (approx time), we will enter the time of Lono and one must be cognizant about the rules of the game for this 'ideology' for anthropologist can easily slip into nuclear bombing negotiations without the people's consent. Which is what the temple gathering was about to right the county's/state use of certain people as pawns in their progressive game that is heading to the use of nuclear. And too, to give ho'okupu which was traditionally placed on a lele at Wailua. The offerings are still fresh and we are still on our journey with our Na Kupuna Iwi and their elements. So, I am limited to talking.
Go to Rangahau research website, one can read about proper protocol on a variety of researchers findings.
Personally, I do not give permission to anthropologist to continue desecrating our Na Kupuna Iwi. As a haumana from the Temple of Lono, I do not give my consent to continue the removal of our Na Kupuna Iwi for the purpose of observation below, above, and all sides of their human covenant soil. The survey of our living Na Kupuna should come to a dead stop and in Hawaii our Na Kupuna Iwi should be left in place and undisturbed. Kaohi