On 24 October 2024, a collection of culturally significant Warlpiri artefacts was returned to the Warlpiri Community by Dr Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt at a handover ceremony held at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany.
His father, Professor Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, had collected the artefacts during a research visit to Yuendumu more than 50 years earlier.
The material returned included sacred men’s objects as well as Karli (boomerangs), Wurlampi (knives), Pikirri (spear thrower) and Kurdiji (shields), and other traditional items.
They are being held at the South Australian Museum in Adelaide under the care of the Warlpiri Project before their transfer to a planned cultural centre in Yuendumu.
-.-
On 28 November 2024, a carved tree, known as a dhulu (thulu), was returned to the Gamilaraay Community from north-east New South Wales at a formal ceremony held at the Museum der Kulturen Basel, Switzerland.
Dhulu hold deep spiritual meaning for the Gamilaraay Community: to them it is an ancestor and family member; it embodies knowledge and has agency. Their markings are associated with specific families, tell their story, and lend them a voice.
