/ 21 August 2006

New beef over old bones

African communities close to Mapungubwe in Limpopo are demanding the return and reburial of hundreds of human skeletons — including those of 12 former rulers — removed from the famous archaeological site to the University of Pretoria.

Mapungubwe mountain was the centre of an African empire the size of Swaziland, encompassing about 200 settlements, between 600AD and 1300AD.

The university is not opposing repatriation of the skeletons, but controversy about how it should be done could hold up the project.

President Thabo Mbeki asked the Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, Rejoice Mabudafhasi, to lead the project late last year after he was approached by Limpopo traditionalists. Mabudafhasi comes from the north of the province, where Mapungubwe is situated, and is a champion of heritage preservation.

“Communities in the area say there was no consent for the bones to be removed. They want their ancestors to be laid to rest in their own places and not subjected to scientific research any more,” said Livhuwani Matshila, director in the office of the deputy minister.

The 1  000-year-old skeletal remains were removed from Mapungubwe during archaeological excavations in the early 1930s. Like other artefacts found at the site — including a famous gold-foil rhino, sceptre and bowl — they were kept under wraps because apartheid ideologues refused to publicise the existence of a sophisticated pre-colonial cultural and trading empire.

Rulers were buried on the top of Mapungubwe mountain, together with gold ornaments, indicating the existence of a class-based society with sacred leadership. Among the major controversies raised by the repatriation project is how the remains will be buried and whether they will be available for future research. The mountaintop is of sandstone and there is a moratorium on excavations, making burial difficult.

Scientists argue the remains should be “buried” in containers that could be accessed in two or three generations. If this is impossible, DNA samples should be taken from the bones before they are buried to be used in future research.

Community groups claiming the remains, and various organisations supporting them, refuse to allow the bones to be subjected to any more “abusive science from the past”.

“The steering committee and the deputy minister said no to these requests because of the emotion involved,” said Edgar Neluvhalani, cultural heritage manager at South African National Parks (SANParks). His organisation manages the Mapungubwe National Park, declared a World Heritage Site in 2003.

Neluvhalani said the process of reburial would have to be defined by the communities involved. There was no precedent for reburial of ancestral remains on this scale.

Another controversy erupted over the genesis of the repatriation project. Mbeki was apparently approached by Kgalushi Koka, an African traditionalist and head of the African Institute, when he was on his deathbed last December.

Koka was a Lemba, an African community with roots in Judaism. According to some critics, the VhaLemba are often regarded as outsiders by the BaVhenda communities in northern Limpopo, and Koka was trying to buy acceptance and influence for his people by instigating the repatriation project.

The critics argue that the remains should rather be claimed by a Venda chief or the provincial premier on behalf of all the people of Limpopo.

According to the deputy minister’s representative, Matshila, particular communities initially claimed to be descended from the rulers buried at Mapungubwe. But four different community groups had since agreed to a joint, equal claim.

Matshila expected the four groups to submit a draft claim to the South African Heritage Resources Agency in the next five weeks. It was hoped that the repatriation would take place on Human Rights Day in March next year, he added.

The law says claims must be negotiated between claimants and the holding party — in this instance, the University of Pretoria. In the event of disagreement, the Department of Arts and Culture will have to step in.

SANParks is planning an interpretive centre in the Mapungubwe park that will house the other artefacts, including the golden rhino, sceptre, bowl, ornaments, and copper, iron, ivory and glass beads.

Discussions around this project hinge on whether the centre can be made sufficiently secure to protect the artefacts, or whether replicas will do.