Oxford’s Pitt Rivers Museum to return 39 Naga ancestral remains

The University of Oxford Council has approved the return of 39 ancestral human remains belonging to the Naga people of northeastern India and Myanmar, the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford announced in September 2026. The skulls and bones had been held at the museum for more than a century.

How many Naga ancestral remains will be returned?

The decision covers 39 ancestral human remains. The Pitt Rivers Museum’s Naga collection holds several thousand items, of which 219 are listed as human remains: the 39 ancestral remains and 178 objects thought to contain human hair. The University of Oxford Council’s approval applies only to the ancestral remains.

Why were the Naga remains at the Pitt Rivers Museum?

Most of the museum’s Naga artefacts were acquired during British colonial rule in India and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and the Pitt Rivers claims to hold the largest collection of Naga artefacts in the world. Many were acquired by John Henry Hutton, a colonial administrator in the Indian Civil Service and an anthropologist, who handed them to the museum more than a century ago. In 2020, the museum removed all human remains from public display as part of what it called a “decolonisation process”, including the ancestral Naga remains.

What have Naga representatives said?

Dr Vihuto Asumi, President of the Sumî Hoho Naga tribe, said the remains “have been here in a foreign land for more than a century”. “We believe that their spirits are still not at rest – so by doing this, we believe it will bring spiritual healing, not only to the ancestral remains here but to everyone who died during the head-hunting days,” he said.

What has the Pitt Rivers Museum said?

Prof Laura Van Broekhoven, director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, said: “It has been a long journey to get to this moment.” She said the week would be one “where we will feel both grief and sadness when looking back on that past, and also where hope is possible as we work towards reconciliation and healing”.

What happens next?

The museum is now organising an official handover ceremony involving a Naga delegation. The Naga will then accompany the remains of their ancestors home, with some returning for the first time in more than a century. The decision follows a declaration made by a Naga delegation that visited Oxford in 2025 requesting the return of the objects. Elsewhere in UK broadcasting, Drag Race UK left the BBC after eight series for Wow Presents Plus, and on UK television Strictly Come Dancing’s new hosts said they would share the presenting role rather than replace Tess Daly.

Frequently asked questions

How many Naga ancestral remains is the Pitt Rivers Museum returning?

The University of Oxford Council approved the return of 39 ancestral human remains belonging to the Naga people of northeastern India and Myanmar. The decision covers only the ancestral remains, not the 178 objects in the collection thought to contain human hair.

Why were the Naga remains held in Oxford?

Most of the Pitt Rivers Museum’s Naga artefacts were acquired during British colonial rule in India and Myanmar. Many were acquired by John Henry Hutton, a colonial administrator in the Indian Civil Service and an anthropologist, who handed them to the museum more than a century ago.

When did the museum take human remains off display?

In 2020, the Pitt Rivers Museum removed all human remains from public display as part of what it described as a “decolonisation process”, including the ancestral Naga remains.

What happens to the remains now?

The Pitt Rivers Museum is organising an official handover ceremony involving a Naga delegation, after which the Naga will accompany their ancestors’ remains home. The decision follows a declaration by a Naga delegation that visited Oxford in 2025.

With reporting from BBC News.

Stock image, not from the events described. Benton Museum of Art Native American pottery items — Sdkb / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)