The National Museum of Finland repatriated the fragments of the power stone to Namibia

The repatriation, i.e. the handover, took place in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. The event was attended by the representatives of the original community and the King Fillemon Shuumbwa Nangolo of Ondonga. The stones will be returned to the community at a later date, in a separate ceremony. The event was also attended by the President of the Republic Sauli Niinistö and the President of Namibia Hage Geingob, as part of President Niinistö's state visit to Namibia.

The ownership and repatriating of cultural heritage, either concretely, digitally or in other ways, to the descendants of the original owners are the most topical issues in the international museum field. Tangible and intangible cultural heritage has an immeasurably valuable meaning for the identity, well-being and continuity of individuals and communities.

According to Elina Anttila, Director General of the National Museum of Finland, the repatriation of the stone fragments has been important to the National Museum of Finland in light of both museum ethical principles and the history of the stones. The fragments of the power stone are a central part of Ondonga's cultural heritage. They belong to the community represented by the King.

"The close co-operation and deep commitment of many different parties have made the repatriation possible. Along with the stone fragments, traditional knowledge and meanings related to stones are also returned to the community and become part of a living culture. The connection to cultural heritage is an essential part of our self-understanding, our social commitment and our visions for the future. Safeguarding cultural rights and diversity is indeed a prerequisite for a sustainable society," Anttila emphasises.

The co-operation between the museums to repatriate the stone fragments began in 2015, when Jeremy Silvester, then the head of the Museums Association of Namibia, visited Finland to explore museum collections originating from Namibia. Initially, only one fragment of the stone was identified and it was to be repatriated to Namibia in 2020, at the 150th anniversary of Finland's and Namibia's relations. However, the coronavirus pandemic postponed the visit, and it later became apparent that there were two fragments of the stone in the collection.

The story of the stones

The Kingdom of Ondonga is one of the traditional communities of Northern Namibia. The existence of the kingdom has been in the continuous existence since the 17th century. Today, the President of Namibia reaffirms the rulers of the community and, under the leadership of the king, the administration of Ondonga, among other things, fosters traditional culture, decides on the distribution of land and natural resources and dispenses justice.

The Power Stone of Ondonga was a ritual power stone located in landscape for the purpose of securing the power of the ruling family. In February 1886, Finnish missionary Martti Rautanen and Swiss botanist Hans Schinz cut fragments out of the stone to examine whether the stone was a meteorite. Touching the power stone was strictly forbidden by the law of the kingdom, and thus the men were guilty of a state crime. They had to pay large compensations and Schinz was deported from the country. However, the stone fragments remained in Rautanen's possession at his home in Olukonda. The act and possession of the stone fragments must be considered an unethical activity that violates the values and norms of the kingdom.

After Rautanen's death in 1926, the furniture in his office was transferred to the collections of the Museum of Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, whose collections consisted of objects collected by the employees of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission who worked in Africa and Asia. The collections were exhibited in touring exhibitions and in the Museum of Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission, which opened in Helsinki in 1931. When the museum's operations ended in 2013, the collection of about 9,000 objects of the Museum of Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission was transferred to the National Museum of Finland. Even before this, the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission had repatriated two other ritual stones from their collections back to Namibia.

In 2019, a touring exhibition was opened in Namibia in co-operation between the National Museum of Finland, the Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency and the Museums Association of Namibia. The exhibition showcased the Ondongan artefacts collected by Martti Rautanen in the late 19th century. A fragment of the power stone was also on display at the exhibition, and the Vice President of Namibia, Nangolo Mbumba, who opened the exhibition, expressed a wish for the stone to be repatriated to Namibia. The discussions started in good co-operative spirit, and the repatriation of the stone was discussed in connection with the visit of Vice President Mbumba to Finland in 2019. The plan was to repatriate the stone in 2020, but the coronavirus pandemic interrupted the preparations. When preparations for the repatriation were continued in spring 2022, it became clear that there was another stone fragment in the collections of the National Museum of Finland. Now these two stone fragments from the Power Stone of Ondonga are returned to the original community.

From repatriation to restitution

Repatriation means returning cultural heritage materials to the original cultural community. This may involve the return of physical objects or the production and distribution of digital data. Restitution means that the population who owns cultural heritage can, for example, familiarise themselves with, learn and enjoy the repatriated material. Cultural heritage is one of the basic elements of civilisation and national cultures, and it supports the formation of identities and the living preservation and continuation of cultural heritage.

According to international rules on museum ethics, museums must be ready to participate in the discussion on restoration of cultural property to the descendants of the original owner community. The UN Declaration of Indigenous Peoples has also paid particular attention to the repatriation of ceremonial objects. In 2022, as a continuation of Finland's Africa strategy, the Ministry of Education and Culture's Africa action plan has been completed. The action plan includes the promotion of co-operation in issues related to the repatriation of cultural heritage materials.

Repatriation is not always possible. The aim of the review is to ensure that cultural heritage materials can be repatriated to appropriate conditions. It is also not always possible to find out the exact history of the objects, or who they belong to today. The National Museum of Finland receives similar collection inquiries and requests for provenance, i.e. the origin of objects, several times a year. Each request is examined on a case-by-case basis and only few of them lead to a repatriation request or start of the process.

In recent years, the National Museum of Finland has made two repatriations that have received international attention. In 2020, the National Museum of Finland returned grave items and remains of the ancestors to representatives of American indigenous peoples in Mesa Verde, Colorado. The grave items and ancestors came from the 1891 expedition of geologist and botanist Gustaf Erik Adolf Nordenskiöld's (1868–1895). In autumn 2021, the museum returned approximately 2,200 Sámi objects from the national collections to Sámiland, to the Sámi Museum Siida. The repatriations received attention and recognition internationally. At the end of 2022, the National Museum of Finland participated in a programme in the United States, invited by the White House, which develops good practices in co-operation with representatives of museums and indigenous peoples, shares experiences and promotes international repatriations. The Sámi repatriation and the related co-operation between museums and communities were awarded the European Commission and the Cultural Heritage Award of Europa Nostra in autumn 2022.