As a community leader, Manuwi C. Tokai focuses on care and recovery. Her work centers on the voices of the ancestors involved. Manuwi’s art is deeply intertwined with the Surinamese Kalinya Terewuyu nation, to which she also belongs. Together with communities, Manuwi created an altar that serves as a memorial for the ancestors preserved by the museum. The inspiration for this altar came from the presumably Surinamese-indigenous baby in the museum’s storage.
Manuwi C. Tokai initiated the request to return the baby to the community. Wereldmuseum supports this request and is collaborating with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to facilitate this transfer. The Wereldmuseum collection contains 3,647 objects containing ancestral remains. These are mostly parts of the human body such as bones or skulls, hair, or teeth, sometimes incorporated into a piece of art. The 26 premature and newborn babies preserved in fluid are particularly poignant.
In this breakout session, Manuwi will share her story and the journey she’s made in and with the museum. She’s eager to engage in conversation about this.