A lang-held chapter o a mirk past nears its close as a mort-heid, held in Aiberdeen syne the mid-1800s, will seen return tae Tasmania. E remains come fae a young loon liftit fae his land lang syne. On 21 Mairch, a ceremony will be held tae lay the remains tae rest in a traditional ceremony led by Aboriginal fowk.

In 2019, e University o Aiberdeen raxed oot tae the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre aboot e repatriation. Iss led tae a proposal tae return e remains. In 2020, e University’s rulin body gied its fu approval. Noo the Centre is set tae tak e remains back tae Tasmania.

E mort-heid is pairt o a trove o items ance ained by William MacGillivray, a professor at Marischal College. Efter he deed in 1852, e University bocht his collection. A sale leet described e item as “Native o Van Diemen’s Land, fa wis shot on e Shannon River.” Nae record is held on foo the mort-heid wis teen. E Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre claims, “there can be nae doot aat iss heid wis removed fae the loon shot at e Shannon River in order tae service (e) trade in Aboriginal body pairts. E decapitation wis maist likely performed by een o the killers, stock-keepers, property ainers or lessees involved in or associated wi the man’s murther.” Officials believe iss act micht hae hid its ruits in e 1820s or 1830s. E young loon belangt til e ‘Big River’ tribe—a fowk entirely wiped oot wi nae direct kin left.

Efter its purchase by the University, e heid gaed intae the Comparative Anatomy collection. In e early 2000s, it wis moved tae the Human Culture collection. It wis eence eesed in medical lessons in e 19th an early 20th centuries. The-day, nae lairnin or study centres on iss item.

Andrew Sculthorpe o the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre said, “Aboriginal fowk feel e enormous responsibility o restorin tae wir ain kintra baith e physical remains, an throu them, e spirits o wir ancestral deid. Iss is a record o racist attitudes tae the study o humanity, includin human remains acquired by grave robbin an ither immoral activity; in iss case, murther. We praise the institutions aat hae the courage tae lowse haad o their perceptions o intellectual supremacy, embrace their ain humanity an dee fit is richt by the fowk aat are maist impacted by the atrocities they hae inflicted in e past. Iss young man’s murther winna be forgotten an we will bring him hame tae rest at last.”

Neil Curtis, Heid o University Collections at e University o Aiberdeen, said, “Gien e violence an racism aat led tae their acquisition, it wid be unacceptable for these ancestral remains tae be eesed for research, lairnin or exhibitions purposes. We are pleased aat e remains o this young loon can noo be haanded ower tae the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre for appropriate burial in his hame land.”

E University o Aiberdeen follaes a set peth fan it comes tae returnin ancestral remains. It walcomes proposals tae return ancestral relics an sacred items tae the communities fae fit they wir taen. A review o its collections is unner-wey tae merk items aat wir looted or unethically acquired. Iss effort comes on e heels o the return o a Benin Bronze in 2021, e first sic move in e warld by a museum.

At last, staps are bein teen tae mend a lang-syne wrang an bring a lost saul hame.