A tribe in Papua New Guinea has refused to accept a series of ‘cursed’ ritual skulls made by cannibal headhunters after a Dutch museum offered to return them to make amends for colonialism. The ritual skulls, crafted by the Iatmul people who live along the Sepik River, were initially used in ceremonial practices and incorporated human skulls into their base.
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Each skull was taken from the graves of the tribe’s ancestors, covered in clay and were used in a number of spiritual rituals including mourning, hunting and invoking religious favours. They were collected by German Roman Catholic missionaries at the beginning of the 20th century, who regarded the skulls of the headhunting tribes as the epitome of native ‘savagery’ and justification for ‘civilising’ the tribes through colonial intervention.
![[Tribe refuses to take back cursed skulls]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235658269-bbe0.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
The skulls eventually became highly sought-after collectables amongst wealthy Europeans, and many eventually found their way into museum collections. One such museum, the Missiemuseum in Steyt, Netherlands, owned a number of the sacred skulls, and recently opened talks to return the objects to the Iatmul people in an attempt to make amends for their colonial past.
![[Tribe refuses to take back cursed skulls]](https://metro.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/SEI_235656818-24b7.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=646)
Paul Voogt, the museum’s curator, traveled to Papua New Guinea to discuss returning the skulls – but despite acknowledging the historical and cultural significance of the objects, the communities declined the offer to have them returned. ‘I would ask them whether they would like to have them back,’ Voogt said, describing his visit. ‘They would say no. When I asked why, they would say, it was such a long time ago. And we don’t know anymore who they were. They have lost their power for us and they are just objects. We have no use for them, he told me.
