The Forum for Naga Reconciliation (FNR) has called on Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio to intervene in the planned auction of a Naga ancestral human skull in the United Kingdom. The FNR urged the Chief Minister to take immediate action after learning that a “19th-century horned Naga human skull” is listed for a one-day sale by Swan Fine Art at Tetsworth, Oxfordshire. The auction is scheduled for October 9, 2024.
The Naga skull is valued between £3,500 and £4,000, as shown on the Swan Fine Art Auctions website. According to the FNR, its provenance traces back to the Ex Francios Coppens Collection from Belgium. The skull is part of an auction titled “The Curious Collector Sale,” which also features items such as antiquarian books, manuscripts, paintings, jewelry, ceramics, and furniture.
The FNR condemned the sale, stating, “Such auctions continue the policy of dehumanization and colonial violence on the Naga people,” calling it an “inhumane and violent practice” where Indigenous ancestral human remains are still treated as collector’s items in the 21st century.
In its letter, the FNR emphasized the need for Chief Minister Rio to “call the High Commissioner of the United Kingdom” to ensure the auction does not proceed. The group highlighted that this issue has arisen while the FNR, alongside the Recover, Restore, and Decolonize Team (RRaD), has been engaged in a dialogue with the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University concerning the repatriation of Naga ancestral human remains.
The FNR stressed that “the urgency to make repatriation of Naga ancestral human remains a priority is felt more than ever before.”
Chief Minister Rio has written to External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, seeking immediate attention and intervention. “The news of the proposed auction of Naga human remains in the UK has been received negatively by all sections of our society, as it is a highly emotional and sacred issue for our people. It has been a traditional custom of our people to give the highest respect and honor to the remains of the deceased,” the Chief Minister wrote.
He added that the human remains of any deceased person belong to their people and their land. “Moreover, the auctioning of human remains deeply hurts the sentiments of the people, is an act of dehumanization, and is considered continued colonial violence upon our people,” Chief Minister Rio added.
He urged Dr. Jaishankar to take up the matter with the Indian High Commission in the UK to ensure that the auction of these human remains is halted.
