Sacred objects, photos and film recordings have been returned to the Warlpiri community of Yuendumu at a formal handover event in Germany.

The return of the cultural heritage materials is the result of two year’s research by Warlpiri Repatriation Officer Jamie Jungarrayi Hampton, based at the South Australian Museum.

He was among those to attend the handover ceremony at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum in Frankfurt on 24 October.

The artefacts will be held at the South Australian Museum under the care of the Warlpiri Project before their transfer to a planned cultural centre in the Northern Territory town of Yuendumu.

Jamie said it was his first international trip with the project and “the biggest return we’ve had from any collection”.  The Warlpiri Project worked in collaboration with the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS).

“We’ve only had two collections back from overseas before – the first one was from the Kluge-Ruhe Aboriginal Art Collection at the University of Virginia and that was seven objects,” Jamie said.

“Then last year, we had the Nancy Munn personal collection from Chicago [including sacred objects, 350 drawings, 300 photographs, and original journals].

“[But] this was our first trip overseas, so it was really exciting. It was a really good opportunity for us to network and build relationships over in Europe and Germany.

“There are a lot of other significant collections in Germany, so it was an important first step for us to go over there and open the doors, which hopefully, in the coming years, will lead to more repatriations like this.”

Among the traditional items handed over were 24 artefacts, including karli (boomerangs), wurlampi (knives), kurdiji (shields), and a pikirri (spear thrower).

The artefacts came from the personal collection of Dr Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt, son of the late Austrian human ethologist, Professor Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeld. Bernolf had accompanied his father on a research expedition to Yuendumu in 1972, when the objects were obtained.

Irenäus once travelled the globe, studying and researching Indigenous communities. Two Warlpiri men – Jimmy Jungarrayi Spencer and Banjo Jungarrayi Tex – assisted Irenäus with his research.

Also handed over at the event was an archive, in digital form, of about seven-and-a-half hours of film and 300 photos from the 1972 trip, which had been stored at the Frankfurt museum.

Bernolf was “very happy” to assist with the handover of all material, according to Jamie. Bernolf was 18 when he accompanied his father on the trip to Australia, with the pair spending about three weeks in Yuendumu.

“Being at such a young age, the trip had a pretty big impact on him. Bernolf remembers really well who the artefacts came from and the stories behind them, so he always wanted to return them. It was just good timing and maybe a little bit of luck to track him down.

“It’s really important for us to now bring these artefacts back to Australia and back to Yuendumu, so that they can be reconnected with their families.”

The handover ceremony also featured a performance by senior Warlpiri men.

This story was prepared by the South Australian Museum and is republished here with permission.