One of the ancestors is believed to have participated in the historic 1835 Malê Revolt in Bahia, while the second was an African woman whose remains were removed from Rio de Janeiro during a 19th-century scientific expedition.
Brazil has officially repatriated the human remains of two enslaved Africans whose skulls had been held in collections affiliated with Harvard University in the United States for more than 150 years. The historic restitution, completed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, marks an important development in the country’s efforts to reclaim its ancestral heritage, confront the historical injustices of slavery and restore the dignity of Africans whose remains were removed from Brazil during the 19th century.
The two skulls had been held at the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, one of Harvard University’s principal museums, in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Their return followed negotiations involving the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), the Ministry of Human Rights and Citizenship (MDHC), Harvard University, the Peabody Museum, the Federal University of Bahia (UFBA), the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) and representatives of civil society.
According to historical records examined by Harvard researchers and the Brazilian authorities, one of the skulls belonged to an enslaved African man of Nagô origin, associated with the Yorùbá-speaking population of West Africa. He is believed to have participated in the Malê Revolt of January 1835 in Salvador, Bahia, one of the most significant African-led uprisings against slavery in Brazilian history.
Historical documentation indicates that the man was wounded during the revolt and subsequently taken to the former Hospital Jerusalém in Salvador, where he died. His remains were reportedly removed from Brazil through the involvement of Gideon T. Snow, an American who was in Bahia at the time. The skull was subsequently sent to J. C. Hayward in Boston and passed through different medical and scientific collections before becoming part of the historical collections associated with Harvard.
The Malê Revolt, which took place on January 24 and 25, 1835, was organized by enslaved and freed Africans, predominantly Muslims, in Salvador. The uprising represented a significant expression of African resistance, political organization and the struggle for freedom in nineteenth-century Brazil. Its participants included Africans of different ethnic and linguistic backgrounds, among them Nagô people.
Following the repatriation, the Brazilian Government announced that the ancestor would be identified by the name Arakuhrin, meaning companion in Yorùbá. The name reflects the recognition of his humanity and ancestral identity rather than his treatment as an object of scientific research.
The campaign for the return of the man’s remains was driven significantly by civil society, particularly the Muslim community in Bahia. Since 2022, the Centro Cultural Islâmico da Bahia, under the leadership of Sheikh Abdul Hameed Ahmad, had been advocating for the restitution of the skull from Harvard’s Peabody Museum
The initiative subsequently gained broader support through the Grupo de Trabalho Arakunrin, which brought together members of the Muslim community, activists, researchers and historians. In late 2024, the group approached Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, initiating a more direct governmental effort to negotiate the return of the remains.
The second skull belongs to an adult woman of African ancestry whose remains were removed from Rio de Janeiro during the Thayer Expedition to Brazil between 1865 and 1866. The expedition was led by Swiss-American naturalist Louis Agassiz, a prominent nineteenth-century scientist whose racial theories became associated with the development of scientific racism.
According to historical records, one of Agassiz’s associates removed the woman’s remains from Rio de Janeiro during the expedition. The skull was transferred in 1870 from the Museum of Comparative Zoology to the Peabody Museum at Harvard, where it remained in the university’s collections.
The identification of the two individuals emerged from Harvard University’s investigation into the human remains held in its museums and academic collections. In 2022, the university published a report titled Human Remains in University Museum Collections, examining more than 22,000 human remains as part of a broader effort to investigate its historical relationship with slavery, racial science and the collection of human remains.
The discovery of the Brazilian remains prompted renewed discussions about the responsibility of international academic institutions to address the historical removal of African bodies and other human remains for scientific research. The repatriation was officially marked by ceremonies in Brazil, following the formal transfer of the remains from Harvard in Boston. The Brazilian delegation completed the transfer through an agreement signed with university authorities and representatives of the Peabody Museum.
On Wednesday morning, the remains of the African woman were formally received by the National Museum, affiliated with the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. The institution will assume temporary responsibility for their custody and conduct the necessary scientific and historical investigations.
Later in the day, at 6 p.m., the Federal University of Bahia held a ceremony at its Rectorate in Salvador to receive the remains of the Nagô man associated with the Malê Revolt. The UFBA will also provide temporary custody while consultations concerning his final resting place and appropriate ancestral and religious rites are undertaken.
The Brazilian authorities emphasized that the remains would not be displayed as museum exhibits. Instead, the universities will undertake appropriate research and identification procedures, with decisions regarding their final destination developed in consultation with the communities concerned.
The transportation of the remains from the United States was conducted through diplomatic channels. The skulls were carefully placed in sealed, protective containers and transported as diplomatic baggage, accompanied by Brazilian diplomats. The procedures were designed to preserve their dignity and avoid unnecessary exposure or inspection.
Brazil’s Minister of Human Rights and Citizenship, Janine Mello, described the repatriation as a historic achievement in the country’s policies of memory, truth and historical reparation. She emphasized that the return represents recognition of the multiple violations suffered by enslaved Africans, including the removal and subsequent commercialization and desecration of their human remains.
The Brazilian Government also acknowledged the cooperation of Harvard University and the Peabody Museum throughout the negotiations, recognizing the importance of international institutional collaboration in the restitution of human remains.
The return of the two skulls carries particular historical significance for Brazil, which received more than four million Africans forcibly transported across the Atlantic during the transatlantic slave trade. Although slavery was abolished in Brazil in 1888, the consequences of that system continue to shape the country’s social, economic and racial inequalities.
For the Yorùbá-Nagô historical community, the return of the man associated with the Malê Revolt is especially significant. His story connects Brazil’s history of African resistance with the wider history of Yorùbá people and their descendants across the Atlantic. It also recalls the important contribution of African Muslims to the organization of resistance movements against slavery in Brazil.
The repatriation is therefore not simply an academic or diplomatic achievement. It is an act of historical recognition, ancestral respect and human dignity. The two individuals, whose bodies were once removed from their homeland and incorporated into foreign scientific collections, have finally returned to Brazil.
Their return also raises broader questions about the responsibility of museums, universities and scientific institutions worldwide to examine the origins of their collections, acknowledge historical injustices and establish meaningful mechanisms for restitution. For Brazil, November 11, 2026, will remain an important date in the country’s continuing efforts to restore ancestral memory, recognize African resistance and confront the historical consequences of slavery.
