The skulls of four Paiwan warriors that were taken by the Japanese during an 1874 punitive expedition known as the Mudan Incident and which are currently housed at Edinburgh University in Scotland are soon to be returned to Taiwan, the Mudan Township Office said.
In a statement yesterday, the office said that according to historical records, the skulls of 12 Paiwan warriors were taken from the Shimen battlefield in Pingtung County by the Japanese in 1874 and taken to Japan and the US.
Four of the skulls eventually ended up in the collection of Edinburgh University, which has indicated in recent years that it would be willing to return them, the office said.
Photo: Taipei Times
Following a series of meetings between local Paiwan groups and the Council of Indigenous Peoples, a delegation including Mudan Township (牡丹) Mayor Pan Chuang-chih (潘壯志), tribal and spiritual leaders, and historians traveled to the UK to inspect the skulls, and a traditional ceremony to mark their return is now being planned, the office said.
A person with knowledge of the matter, but who wished to remain anonymous, said the four skulls were expected to be returned to Taiwan on Sunday.
After their arrival, they are to be sent to the Tainan branch of the National Museum of Prehistory for DNA profiling so that more information about their identities can be discovered, the source said.
The Mudan Incident refers to an 1874 punitive expedition launched by the Japanese in response to the massacre of 54 shipwrecked Ryukyuan sailors by Paiwan warriors three years earlier.
After a major battle with the Paiwan at Shimen in today’s Mudan Township, the Japanese gained the upper hand in the fighting and the Paiwan retreated to the mountains to fight a guerrilla war.
After many Japanese soldiers began coming down with illnesses in the unfamiliar climate, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire and the war came to an end.
The Shimen battlefield site now hosts a memorial park.
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