In a significant moment for the Pacific island nation of Vanuatu, a crate escorted by the FBI from New York was opened this week at the national museum, revealing a long-lost cultural treasure. Kaitip Kami, a curator at the Vanuatu Cultural Centre, immediately recognized the artefact inside—a statue incorporating the skull of a male ancestor from the hill tribes of Malakula, Kami’s island home. “By looking at it, I knew straight away,” Kami stated, reflecting on the powerful connection to his heritage. “I recognize it, where it belongs, up in the bush.”
A landmark ceremony in Port Vila
The repatriation ceremony, held on Thursday in Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, was attended by U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. The event marked the return of five crates containing sacred human relics, the largest such repatriation in Vanuatu’s history, and the culmination of an eight-year FBI investigation.
Sacred relics unveiled
The relics included two skulls moulded with mud and three large effigies known as rambaramp, each containing the skull of a man. The effigies were uniquely painted to depict the final stages of the individuals’ lives, Kami explained. These artefacts were likely stolen from a sacred men’s house in a bush village before being seized by the FBI in 2016. The items had been part of the estate of a deceased New York collector, who had amassed over 200 sacred objects from indigenous cultures worldwide.
The dark side of the art world
“New York is the art capital of the world, and because of that, it is also the art crime capital of the world,” remarked Chris McKeogh, an agent with the FBI’s art crimes team. McKeogh, who travelled to Vanuatu for the ceremony, noted the grim reality of the illicit trade in human remains. “We don’t know who looted them or took them out of the country, but there is a market in the world for human remains—they are trafficked, unfortunately, and they are collected,” he said.
Challenges in returning the rambaramp
The return of the Vanuatu effigies posed significant logistical challenges for the FBI’s art crime team, with the largest effigy measuring 11-1/2 feet long and weighing 700 pounds. “They are extremely fragile, probably the most fragile objects that we have ever come across,” McKeogh added, highlighting the delicate nature of these invaluable cultural artefacts. The successful repatriation of these sacred items marks a major victory in the ongoing efforts to preserve and protect cultural heritage, bringing these significant relics back to their rightful place among the people of Vanuatu.