Successful repatriation of Moluccan ancestral skulls by diaspora group and Museum Vrolik

After 112 years in the custodianship of Museum Vrolik and a journey of over 10,000 kilometres, fifteen ancestral skulls returned to their community in Desa (Indonesian for “village”) Amtufu (now known as Desa Lorulun and Desa Tumbur), on Yamdena Island, the Tanimbar archipelago, on November 5 2024.

Why to the Netherlands?
The skulls were taken from Amtufu in 1912 by G.N.A. Ketting, a medical officer of the Royal Dutch-Indies Army.  From oral tradition, the village adat (Indonesian for “traditional”) elders still know where these remains once rested, on a platform in a rocky niche where villagers commemorated their ancestors. Considering the year of collection (1912) and the ages at death of the individuals as determined from their skeletal remains, the skulls were from people who lived in the second half of the 19th century or possibly earlier.

In 1912, Ketting gave the skulls to Dutch anthropologist J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan (1875-1971), a specialist in the study of racial anthropology. At that time, European scientists believed humanity could be divided into human races. They claimed that each of these races had distinct physical characteristics. As an anthropologist, Kleiweg de Zwaan was especially interested in the racial study of the Indonesian people.

After Kleiweg de Zwaan received the skulls, he, in turn, gave them to his former PhD supervisor, Professor Lodewijk Bolk. Professor Bolk was the director of the anatomical laboratory of the University of Amsterdam. This laboratory also housed Museum Vrolik, the anatomy museum. In 1917, Kleiweg de Zwaan wrote a publication about these skulls, Tanimbarschedels (‘Tanimbarese skulls’). In 1984, the collection of Museum Vrolik, including the skulls, moved from the laboratory to the newly built Academic Medical Centre. Here, the skulls were stored in the depot and not on display.

Photo: The ancestral skulls and the publication of Kleiweg de Zwaan from 1917. Photo by: Brinsley Lainsamputt

Lucky find and first steps
Menucha Latumaerissa of the Moluccan-Dutch foundation Budaya Kita learned of the history of the ancestral skulls by chance in 2022. While visiting a thrift shop, he found a copy of Kleiweg de Zwaan’s 1917 publication. Menucha wondered if the skulls described in the book were still part of the collection of Museum Vrolik.  He and the other members of Budaya Kita asked Jos van Beurden, a Dutch expert on repatriation and cultural heritage,  to help them with the first steps in a possible repatriation of the remains. Subsequently, Menucha emailed us: “Could you please check if the ancestral skulls are still in your collection?” We replied that fifteen of the original sixteen skulls were in our depot.

Menucha and other members of Budaya Kita visited the ancestral remains several times in 2023. During his first visit, Menucha knew: “Ancestors, we will bring you home.”

Budaya Kita took the initiative for the repatriation with the full support of Museum Vrolik. The process, uncharted territory for many involved, was undertaken with the support and close involvement of the Indonesian Embassy in The Hague and the help and advice of Garuda Indonesia/Western Europe. Noah Fanoembi, ambassador by special appointment of the Tanimbar Island in the Netherlands, and Jos van Beurden assisted. Anthropologist Paul Wolff Mitchell from the University of Amsterdam provided a forensic report estimating the age at death and probable sex of the ancestral remains. The Board of Directors of Amsterdam University Medical Center, which legally owns the Museum Vrolik collection, were involved and supportive throughout the process.

Via Noah Fanoembi, Budaya Kita contacted the people of Desa Lorulun about the ancestral remains. In December 2023, Museum Vrolik received the official request from the newly founded committee of the repatriation of the fifteen Tanimbar skulls (Tim pemulangan 15 Tengkorak Asal Amtufu Lorulun). Members of this committee were the mayor of Desa Lorulun, the late Yohanes Bwarleling, and the adat elder of the village, Firminus Torimtubun. In the spring of 2024, Museum Vrolik replied with an official agreement to the repatriation.

Descendants in the Netherlands
Around the same time, the members of Budaya Kita contacted the Maselaman family, the only known Moluccan-Dutch family from the village of Amtufu, descending from the Nusmese clan. The eldest brother Maselaman was still a newborn when their parents were brought to the Netherlands in 1951, following the independence of Indonesia.

In early spring 2024, the youngest brother, Ivo Maselaman, first visited the ancestral remains. As Amtufu was only a small village in the early 20th century, Ivo realised that a direct ancestor could be among these remains. He called for a family meeting with all of his siblings and scheduled a visit to Museum Vrolik to be with the ancestral skulls. This meeting with the ancestors happened in May 2024. It was an emotional visit, especially when Max Maselaman said a prayer and promised the skull that they would go home safely.

Over the summer, plans were made in close communication with the Indonesian Embassy, the villages Tumbur and Lorulun, the office of the Bupati (regent) of Tanimbar, and the national Indonesian airline company Garuda Indonesia. It was decided that the remains would be guided home by several members of Budaya Kita and by two of the brothers of the Maselaman family at the beginning of November. Moreover, Budaya Kita would film a report on the repatriation process. After two years of intensive preparation, the skulls would return home to Yamdena Island.

The family Maselaman during their visit. Photo by: Brinsley Lainsamputty

Going home
The first step of the return took place on October 31, when the Indonesian Embassy officially sealed the case containing the remains. In the late afternoon of that same day, a transfer ceremony was held in the spiritual care centre in Amsterdam UMC, location AMC, where the skulls were handed over to Budaya Kita and the Maselaman family. Present at the ceremony were relatives of those involved, including the Maselaman family, members of Budaya Kita and staff members of the Indonesian Embassy and Garuda Indonesia. After speeches from Laurens de Rooy, director of Museum Vrolik, Hans van Goudoever, chair of the Board of directors of Amsterdam UMC, Jos van Beurden and Max Maselaman, the gathering concluded with a prayer in the Tanimbarese language by Noah Fanoembi for a prosperous return of the ancestors. After the prayer, signing the transfer document officially meant that the ancestral skulls were no longer in the custodianship of Museum Vrolik/Amsterdam UMC.

The ceremony in the Amsterdam UMC, location AMC. Photo’s by: Hans van den Bogaard

The case with the ancestral skulls left Amsterdam on November 2. After stopovers in Jakarta and Ambon, where Indonesian officials meticulously checked the case and the paperwork, the case arrived at Saumlaki Airport, Tanimbar, on the morning of November 5. Soon thereafter, it was cleared by customs, much to the relief of Menucha Latumaerissa and the others present.

The case with the ancestral skulls going trough customs. Photo’s by: Brinsley Lainsamputty

After the clearing, the members of Budaya Kita and the brothers Maselaman were welcomed to the island by the deputy of the bupati of the islands and by the new chairman of the local repatriation committee, Dr. Jos Malinbar, with the decoration of a kain tenun, a traditional scarf of the islands. In a slow convoy, the group and the case with the ancestral skulls drove to Lorulun, where the welcome ceremony was held. Jos Malimbar, several adat elders of Lorulun and Tumbur, and Menucha welcomed the ancestors back with prayers and speeches.

After the ceremony, Jos Malinbar  stressed the importance of the repatriation for the community of Tumbur and Lorulun. He said to the corresponding reporter of the National Dutch Broadcasting Station (NOS), “We believe that Gods still live in our ancestors, even if they have passed away. So, talking about these crania: they are very important to us.” Moreover, he stressed the importance of future repatriations for other villages and islands of Indonesia and the return of ancestral remains to their communities of origin. Max Maselaman supported this importance: “It is a part of themselves that returns.” Menucha concluded, clearly relieved about the success of this mission: “It is accomplished.”

After the ceremony, the ancestral remains were brought to the house of the former mayor of Lorulun, the late Yohanes Bwarleling, where they will wait until it is decided whether they will be placed in the adat house or a monument specially built for them, on the location of the former burial grounds of Amtufu. In any case, they will go to an area where they can resume their original function as symbols of remembrance and ancestor worship.

The Dutch and Indonesian media showed keen interest in the repatriation. Dutch daily TROUW published a lengthy article on October 21, 2024: Trouw – ‘Molukse schedels gaan na 112 jaar eindelijk op reis terug naar huis‘, followed by other dailies, radio and TV. The national broadcasting station NOS covered the farewell ceremony (03:59) and arrival in Indonesia (53:29).

The welcome ceremony at Lorulun. Photo’s by: Brinsley Lainsamputty

Museum Vrolik’s second repatriation
The repatriation of fifteen ancestral skulls to Amtufu was not the first international repatriation of ancestral remains from Museum Vrolik. In 2019, the remains of nine individuals were repatriated to Aeteroa, New Zeeland and Rekohu, Chatham Islands. However, the repatriation to Amtufu was the first of ancestral remains from the Netherlands to Indonesia. Moreover, it was the first repatriation set in motion by a diaspora organisation in the Netherlands and the first from a non-government collection to a regional or local government. We are honoured and thankful to have worked with Budaya Kita on this critical and moving initiative. It also reminds us of the responsibility Dutch museums have in dealing with human ancestral remains and objects from colonial contexts.

Museum Vrolik holds about 400 human ancestral remains from colonial contexts. About 80% of these come from the former Dutch East Indies. We are currently making an inventory of these remains and undertaking provenance research whenever possible. When this inventory is completed, it will also be translated into Indonesian and made accessible to those who wish to know if ancestral remains from their community are in the depot of Museum Vrolik.

Budaya Kita is already preparing two new cases for repatriation to Maluku. One of these cases concerns a skeleton in the custodianship of Museum Vrolik.

The welcome ceremony at Lorulun. Photo’s by: Brinsley Lainsamputty