The voluntary handover, held in the Swiss city of Neuchâtel, coincided with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s state visit to Switzerland and was the culmination of years of dialogue between the Ethnographic Museum of Neuchâtel (MEN), the Nkuna family, and South African cultural authorities.
The artifacts, a carved wooden stick, a divination basket, and a bovine astragalus amulet, date back to the 19th century and were once central to spiritual and ritual ceremonies among the Nkuna royal lineage in Limpopo.
“More than pieces in a museum, these objects carry the memory of generations and the identity of a people,” President Ramaphosa said during the ceremony.
“This act of repatriation speaks to our shared belief that dialogue can heal what conflict has broken, and that the dignity of every human being transcends borders and time.”
Swiss missionary Henri-Alexandre Junod originally collected the items between 1889 and 1921.
Historical records show Junod obtained them directly from the Nkuna family and documented their cultural significance with deep admiration.
The artifacts, valued collectively at over $120,000, will soon be displayed in Limpopo, where they will be ceremonially reintroduced to the Nkuna community.