South Africa reburied the remains of 63 Khoisan individuals in Steinkopf, Northern Cape, on Monday, returning the ancestors of some of southern Africa’s oldest indigenous communities to their homeland after more than a century in European museums. President Cyril Ramaphosa attended the ceremony at a historic monument, where rows of wooden coffins, some covered in traditional cloth, were lowered into freshly dug graves.
The reburial marks a significant step in the repatriation of human remains taken during the colonial era. Six of the individuals were returned from the Hunterian Museum at the University of Glasgow, Scotland, while the remainder were housed at South Africa’s Iziko Museums. The Glasgow remains were exhumed from graves between 1868 and 1924; the university also returned two plaster face casts and a smoking pipe from the same burial ground.
Traditional leaders led prayers during the solemn farewell. “This is not merely a burial. It is a restoration of dignity long denied,” said James Mapanga, a community leader. President Ramaphosa emphasized the national importance of the act, stating, “It is about acknowledging that the past, no matter how painful, must be addressed with honesty and courage to complete the healing process.”
The Khoisan, comprising the Khoikhoi and San peoples, have long campaigned for recognition as South Africa’s first indigenous groups. Their history is marked by dispossession and exploitation, most infamously through the case of Sarah Baartman. In the early 19th century, a British doctor transported Baartman to Europe, where she was exhibited as the “Hottentot Venus,” a dehumanizing spectacle that epitomized colonial cruelty.
While the physical return of the remains addresses a specific historical injustice, the ceremony also highlights ongoing discussions about cultural restitution and the treatment of indigenous remains in museums worldwide. The reburial is part of a broader, decades-long effort by Khoisan communities to reclaim their heritage and secure formal acknowledgement of their foundational place in South Africa’s history.
For many attendees, the interment represents both closure and a reaffirmation of identity. Moving forward, the event underscores the continued work required to rectify colonial-era harms and support the cultural revival of the Khoisan people.
