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 others from his court - took place at a ceremony at the culture ministry in Paris. The skulls had been taken to France at the end of the 19th Century and stored at the Museum of Natural History in Paris.
This event represents the first use of a recent law designed to expedite the return of human remains collected from various countries. In August 1897, a French military force attempting to assert control over the Menabé kingdom massacred a local army, which resulted in King Toera’s death and the subsequent severing of his head.
The return of his skull comes after pressure from the king's descendants and the government of Madagascar, demonstrating a significant move toward addressing historical grievances arising from French colonialism.
Previous returns of human remains from France have occurred, with the most notable case involving the body of a woman known as the 'Hottentot Venus', which was repatriated in 2012. This recent initiative is anticipated to hasten the process for the estimated 20,000 human remains still housed at the French Museum of Natural History.
