Jaara baby
The Jaara baby was descended from the Jaara Aboriginal tribe (also called Dja Dja Wurrung ), who died between 1840 and 1870 between 1840 and 1870, aged no more than 18 months. It was found in 1904. The find was unique in that it contained more than 130 grave objects of both European and indigenous origins. The bones and artifacts were handed over to the Victoria Museum, now the Melbourne Museum , which kept them in four drawers for 99 years. It was not until 2003 that the entire find was handed over to Gary Murray from the Dja Dja Wurrung , which received great media coverage .
Find
The Jaara baby, believed to be female, was found on September 10, 1904 near Charlton , Victoria in Australia . It was a European woodcutter who found it in a tree trunk with the abundant grave goods. The baby and the gifts were wrapped in possum fur in a bundle and sprinkled with red ocher . Among the grave goods were traditional Aboriginal toys made from emu feathers, a waist belt, and other European artifacts including a hatchet and knife. There were also a fragment of dishes, a button and a tiny leather shoe.
The find was reported extensively in the local press at the time and it came to the museum. Only an Aboriginal cooperative in Horsham drew attention to the Jaara baby in the museum in 1994.
The Australian anthropologist Alan West considers the find to be the most important cultural material of the Aborigines, which was found in Australia at an indigenous burial site. Most of these artifacts are rare, one or two are uncommon, and one is entirely unique. West describes the belt, which was used to hold tools and weapons, as unique; no such piece has been found anywhere in Victoria so far.
origin
The origin of the toddler could not be determined. It was buried according to the funeral rites of the Aborigines, but doubts about its indigenous origin exist because of the European grave goods.
Gary Murray, chairman of the Northwest Region Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Board and a member of the Dja Dja Wurrung tribe, believes the abundance of grave goods suggests that it could be a child of an elder or chief. The European additions could come from the armed conflicts between the Aborigines and Europeans at the time.
Reburial
Before the burial in 2003, bones were generally accepted, but the filing of historical grave goods was described by scientists as vandalism, as these artefacts are irretrievably lost for science and for all Australians.
The Aborigines rejected a separation of human remains and grave goods on the grounds that there would be no “moral, cultural, political or scientific argument” and that it would contradict their customs. Basically, it should be noted that, in accordance with Article 12, Paragraph 2 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, an indigenous population has the right to “repatriation of ceremonial objects and human remains”.
A few days after the delivery on September 10, 2003, the Jaara baby and all artifacts were buried in a traditional ceremony in the presence of Melbourne Mayor John So, about a kilometer from the original burial site.
Web links
- creativespirits.info : Aboriginal remains repatriation (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b abc.net.au : Jarra baby returns home , September 10, 2003, in English, accessed on November 14, 2011
- ↑ a b abc.net.au ( Memento of the original from September 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. : Zoe Daniel: Debate sparked after Aboriginal baby remains returned , September 12, 2003, in English, accessed November 14, 2011
- ↑ a b c d e f theaustralian.com.au : Jim Buckell: Baby carries baggage , September 10, 2003, in English, accessed November 14, 2011
