Restitution Museum der Kulturen Basel rewarded for the return of a cult object
Ceremonial return of the Thulu tree from the Museum der Kulturen Basel to the Australian aboriginal community of the Gamilaraay with representatives of the community, the museum, the Basel government and Australia's ambassador to Switzerland, Elisabeth Day (far left).
Image: Keystone
For a brief moment, the old and new Thulu trees were together in the "Everything Lives" exhibition.
Image: Keystone
In 2022, the Thulu Tree in the depot of the Museum der Kulturen Basel was reconnected with its community with a Smoking Ceremony.
Image: Keystone
Ceremonial return of the Thulu tree from the Museum der Kulturen Basel to the Australian aboriginal community of the Gamilaraay with representatives of the community, the museum, the Basel government and Australia's ambassador to Switzerland, Elisabeth Day (far left).
Image: Keystone
For a brief moment, the old and new Thulu trees were together in the "Everything Lives" exhibition.
Image: Keystone
In 2022, the Thulu Tree in the depot of the Museum der Kulturen Basel was reconnected with its community with a Smoking Ceremony.
Image: Keystone
In a festive ceremony on Thursday, the Museum der Kulturen Basel returned a Thulu tree to the Australian aboriginal community of the Gamilaraay. The recipients returned the favor with a new trunk modeled on the original.
The centuries-old tree will start its journey home at the end of the week. Its place in the "Everything Lives" exhibition will be taken by a new Thulu, which was carved especially for the museum. The Gamilaraay wish that their culture could continue to be shared with people in Switzerland, Europe and the world in this way, writes the museum.
For the Gamilaraay, the Thulu has a special significance as a spiritual cult object and also as a true ancestor and family member.
The Thulu tree that has now returned was brought to Basel by Basel adventurer and collector Lucas Staehelin in the 1940s. Both Staehelin and the museum were aware at the time that this object was actually subject to an export ban.
SDA
