Guam welcomes ancestral skulls' return

By Johanna Salinas

Guam has welcomed home four ancestral skulls, which had been stolen from the island and sold to a German collector in 1878.

For more than a century, the skulls of ancient CHamorus were almost forgotten, if not for the hard work of Fran Lujan, director of the Pacific Island Ethnic Art Museum. 

“With the work of repatriation, rematriation, it’s a sacred responsibility, an obligation we owe to our ancestors,” Melvin Won Pat-Borja, president of the Department of CHamoru Affairs, said, describing the ancestral skulls' March 13 homecoming as an emotional moment.

“We understand there’s a very ugly history of the removal of not just our cultural artifacts, our cultural resources, but also our ancestors themselves. Dr. Michael Bevacqua mentioned that in those days, outsiders treated our people as objects. It’s a difficult thing for a lot of people to see.”

Won Pat-Borja noted that while the skulls belonged to unidentified ancestors, “every single person in this room feels an undeniable connection to them."

The ancestors' return to Guam, he added, was a visceral experience for those who attended the homecoming event at the Guam Museum.

Won Pat-Borja is optimistic that more stolen CHamoru artifacts will be returned to Guam.

The skulls were part of the Hornbostel Collection, consisting of artifacts taken from Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and have since been transferred to the Bishop Museum.

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In the 1920s, Hans Hornbostel collected thousands of cultural artifacts, including human skeletal remains, from the islands. The U.S. military then shipped these items to Hawai'i, where they were donated to the Bishop Museum. 

The entire collection totaled over 10,000 recorded items, which is roughly one-eighth of the Bishop Museum's ethnological collection.

Guam has partnered with the Bishop Museum for the repatriation of the artifacts.

“The Hornbostel return is still ongoing; that's just a reflection of the sheer number in that collection,” Won Pat-Borja said. "We started with the return of the latte (sets). We already have a small-scale return."

He said a larger phase transfer is on the way.

"It’s difficult to predict when the transfer will complete, but we already started planning out what it’ll look like upon receipt of the entire collection and how we’ll create access for the community to be able to learn from these items," he added.

Won-Pat said the skulls displayed at the Guam Museum serve as a reminder of the ancient CHamorus' belief in animism, referring to the theory that "everything and everyone has a life force."

“They’re inanimate, but they’re not devoid of life and spirit,” he said. “These aren’t just objects; what they represent is so much bigger, so important to us as individuals and as a collective people."

Won Pat-Borja said the repatriation efforts for the artifacts represent "an act of decolonization."

"It’s us reclaiming our identity, us asserting and insisting we have a right to exist, we have a right to perpetuate our culture and our spirit and how we see ourselves," he said.

Master chanter Leonard Iriarte, along with the I Fanlalai'an group, chanted "I Manmatao" in honor of CHamoru ancestors.

“You can feel a strong sense of reverence coming from all the people here, seeing the skulls—that was palpable,” he said. “It’s interesting to watch the different things being put on the offering table."

Guests offered flowers, valuable shells, rice, pugas and rice cakes.

“Maybe what the ancestors want is for us to remember them, remember their values and try espouse that in the modern time," Iriarte said.

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