France Returns Skull Believed to Belong to Beheaded Malagasy King Toera After 128 Years

Madagascar has formally received the skulls of three individuals from France—one believed to be that of King Toera of the Sakalava people, who was executed by French colonial forces in 1897.

A solemn state ceremony took place on Tuesday at the Mausoleum in Antananarivo, where President Andry Rajoelina, senior government officials, and Sakalava dignitaries gathered to witness the historic return.

The remains, housed in boxes draped in the Malagasy national flag, were carried through the capital by members of the Sakalava community dressed in traditional attire. They will be transferred to the king’s ancestral home in Belo Tsiribihina for burial later this week.

The restitution is the result of a 2023 French law aimed at returning human remains taken during colonial expeditions. Unlike previous cases that required special legislation, the new law streamlines the process of returning remains to former colonies.

French Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed that a joint scientific committee had verified the skulls’ Malagasy origin, though it could only “presume” that one belonged to King Toera.

The skulls were held in the collection of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris for over a century, alongside hundreds of other artifacts taken from Madagascar during its colonization. The country gained independence from France in 1960.

This handover marks the first major restitution under the new French law and is seen as part of a broader movement to acknowledge and address the injustices of France’s colonial past.