SYDNEY, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- Indigenous Australians in the state of Queensland have welcomed the return of 43 sacred ceremonial items taken by British settlers over a century ago, with a special ceremony on Wednesday.
Manchester Museum returned the items which they've held in their collection since the 1920's, including body ornaments and clothing -- as well as a Churinga, an item believed to contain the spirit of an ancestor.
The special ceremony involved members of the Gangalidda and Garawa communities, and took place in Queensland's remote north west, near the border of neighbouring Northern Territory.
Last month representatives from the Gangalidda and Garawa communities travelled to Manchester Museum to retrieve the items in a formal handover.
At the time, Representative for the Gangalidda Garawa Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Mangubadijarri Yanner, explained why the return of the items was so important to communities.
"The repatriation of our sacred cultural heritage items is a fundamental part of the healing and reconciliation process, both within our communities and between our mob and the government," Yanner said.
"Bringing these sacred cultural heritage items back to country is important and necessary for the purpose of cultural revitalisation -- because locked deep within these items is our lore; our histories, our traditions and our stories."
Roughly 32,000 items belonging to Aboriginal Australian's have been identified throughout museums in the United Kingdom, and around the world.
One of the precepts recently identified by indigenous organisations as promoting reconciliation is "truth-telling," of which the acknowledgment of history and return of artefacts is an important factor.
