Delegation from Cameroon commemorates ancestors at the University of Freiburg

Five skulls from the Alexander Ecker Collection, one of the largest anthropological collections in the German-speaking world, come from members of the Maka people. The Maka are a people in southern Cameroon. The collection is housed at the University of Freiburg.

 

(c) Thomas Fues

 

The skulls are Maka who were killed in the fight against German colonial rule and, according to Andreas Mehler, "became part of a collection" and were thus "objectified and dehumanised". With their visit to Germany, the Maka delegation confirmed an official request for restitution - a first step on the road to repatriation.

Following their visit to the University of Freiburg, the delegation travelled to Stuttgart, where they met Science Minister Petra Olschowski. They also visited the Linden Museum in Stuttgart to discuss the restitution of cultural assets stolen from the Maka.

The report can be read on the BZ website (paywall).

For its part, the University of Freiburg published a report on the visit and on how the University of Freiburg deals with its colonial past.

(c) Andreas Mehler