The head of King Toera of Madagascar, who was killed by French colonial troops in the late 19th century, has been officially returned to his homeland, along with the skulls of two other members of his court.
The handover ceremony was held at the Ministry of Culture in Paris, where the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, declared that "these skulls were introduced into national collections in circumstances that clearly violate human dignity and in a context of colonial violence."
In August 1897, French troops attacked the Sakalava Kingdom of Menabé in western Madagascar, massacring the local army. King Toera was killed and beheaded, and his head was taken to Paris and preserved in the Natural History Museum.
Although DNA evidence to prove whether the skull truly belongs to the king has been inconclusive, a traditional Sakalava spirit medium confirmed its identity.
Madagascar's Minister of Culture, Volamiranty Donna Mara, called the return a "significant gesture", saying that "their absence has been for more than a century... an open wound in the heart of the island".
This return is the first to be carried out under a new French law that aims to accelerate the return of human remains taken during the colonial era.
France has in recent years begun a process of returning human remains taken from the colonies, including the famous case of the South African woman known as the "Hottentot Venus", who was returned to her country in 2012.
