Fifty-two years ago, two Warlpiri men assisted a researcher from the German Max-Planck-Gesellschaft visiting their community of Yuendumu on the edge of Australia’s Tanami Desert. Their names were Jimmy Jungarrayi Spencer and Banjo Jungarrayi Tex. The researcher was Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt, an Austrian human ethologist visiting Australia with his 18-year-old son, Bernolf, and an assistant, Dieter Heunemann.
Jimmy Jungarrayi Spencer and Banjo Jungarrayi Tex were senior Warlpiri lore men who generously provided Professor Eibl-Eibesfeldt with rare access to the Warlpiri People, their customs and culture during his trip to Yuendumu in 1972.
Fittingly, at the handover ceremony in Frankfurt on 24 October 2024, Dr Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt will return his father’s private collection of culturally significant Warlpiri artefacts to the Warlpiri Community – while son of the late Banjo Jungarrayi Tex, Nelson Tex, watches via livestream from Australia. Warlpiri Project Elders have travelled more than 20 hours from the remote community of Yuendumu to attend the official handover ceremony.
The handover ceremony will be held at the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany, where Professor Eibl-Eibesfeldt’s Human Ethology Film Archive is housed.
The culturally significant materials to be returned by Dr Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt include sacred men’s objects and everyday objects such as Karli (boomerangs), Wurlampi (knives), Pikirri (spear thrower) and Kurdiji (shields), and other traditional items.
Elders and representatives of the Warlpiri Project will also be shown never-before-seen footage captured by Professor Eibl-Eibesfeldt during his time in Yuendumu. Once the original footage has been professionally digitised it will allow the community to connect with past generations, enable the exchange of cultural knowledge from over 50 years ago and be a valuable resource for future generations of Warlpiri people. Importantly, the digitisation will also lead to the establishment of a close connection between all partners for the assessment of research proposals on the materials in the Human Ethology Film Archive. This will promote utilisation and access of this unique and important data.
Although Warlpiri ranger Nelson Tex is not able to attend the handover ceremony in person, he is thrilled to be able to watch it, live from the Pintubi Anmatjere Warlpiri Media (PAW) studio in Yuendumu and said he is looking forward to seeing the artefacts back on Country.
The artefacts will be 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. While at the South Australian Museum, Warlpiri Elders will engage with the materials to undertake further research. The return of the cultural heritage materials is the result of two year’s research by the Warlpiri Repatriation Officer, Jamie Hampton, based in the South Australian Museum.
The return was initiated by the Warlpiri Project with support from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Dr Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt, and the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt. Financial support for community delegates was provided by the Yuendumu Granites Mine Affected Area Aboriginal Corporation (GMAAAC).
The livestream of the handover ceremony can be viewed at the following link: https://www.senckenberg.de/de/athome/sgn-live/
A media toolkit is available at the following link.
Quotes attributable:
Warlpiri Project Representatives
Ned Jampitjinpa Hargraves, Senior Warlpiri lore man and Warlpiri Project elder.
“Thank you AIATSIS, Senckenberg and Dr Eibl-Eibesfeldt for safeguarding our history, for your respect, and for your commitment to returning what is ours. This day will be remembered, not just as a handover of objects, but as a meaningful step in building understanding and respect between cultures.”
Derek Japangardi Williams, Warlpiri Project member and young Warlpiri leader from Yuendumu, Tanami Desert, Northern Territory Australia.
“I am very thrilled by what we have received from Germany and we are very proud and very emotional that the artefacts were returned to the traditional owners. We would like to thank all of the people that were involved in this project. It is very significant for our cultural practice today and we can reuse these objects in our ceremonies in years to come.”
Nelson Tex, son of the late Warlpiri Elder and senior lore man, Banjo Jungarrayi Tex
“From what I have been told, that researcher [Eibl-Eibesfeldt] came from Germany to Yuendumu many many years ago and my father was very kind and worked to help him.
I think about these objects and am in shock. The fact that my father’s objects are there in Germany and coming home. I want to follow in his footsteps and make sure my children do too. When these objects are brought back home, I want to be part of that and be able to share that with my children. I’m not going to stop teaching them.
I’m a bit nervous but I really want to see them. When these special objects come back, I think we will put them back in the [South Australian] Museum with the Warlpiri Project so we can all look at them and take special care of them.”
Dr. Bernolf Eibl-Eibesfeldt, son of the late Professor Irenäues Eibl-Eibesfeldt:
“It is a great pleasure and relief for me to return pieces of my father’s collection to their original creators. Back home with the Walpiri Community they mean so much more. This return will hopefully initiate ongoing collaboration between the Warlpiri Project and The Human Ethology Film Archive, now under the auspices of Senckenberg. The reawakening of interest in the films accumulated by my father over forty years means a lot to me.
My father was interested in the universality of human behaviour, the innate behaviours common to all people. His research focused upon bonding behaviours that are deep rooted in all our social interactions. For many years he documented everyday behaviour in Europe, Bali, Japan and regularly visited and documented Indigenous communities with few contacts with German culture. He never carried arms and came with a disarming smile, greetings, gifts and a friendly attitude that was understood by all people.
His unique documentation of unstaged human behaviours during everyday life shows that all humans share the same behaviour and emotions. That brings us closer.”
Senator the Hon Malarndirri McCarthy, Minister for Indigenous Australians
"I welcome the return of this significant cultural heritage material to the Warlpiri people of Yuendumu.
This handover in Frankfurt is an acknowledgement of the importance of cultural heritage material to truth-telling and healing.
The Albanese Government remains committed to working with First Nations communities to facilitate the return of their heritage from overseas collections."
Ms Natasha Smith, Australian Ambassador to Germany
“The return of cultural heritage material is deeply meaningful for Australia’s First Nations people. The artefacts returned today show the unique and rich cultural heritage of the Warlpiri people. The return will support the maintenance and revitalisation of cultural practices and is an important step towards healing and reconciliation. The Australian Government commends the close collaboration and cooperation between the Warlpiri Project, the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Dr Eibl-Eibesfeldt and AIATSIS that has made this return possible. Today’s signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Warlpiri Project and the Senckenberg Institute formalises and will deepen research on First Nations cultural heritage.”
Mr Prof. Dr. Andreas Mulch, Director of the Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Germany
“For ten years, Senckenberg has been home to the Human Ethology Film Archive – a unique documentation of the life course of individuals, from childhood through adulthood to the next generation. The recordings by Prof. Irenäus Eibl-Eibesfeldt encompass the history of these societies, changes in their living conditions, and cultural transformation processes. We are very grateful that the Warlpiri community approached us, and that in close collaboration with them and AIATSIS, we have found a way to make the film documents accessible for science and knowledge transfer in the future. The past week has already brought us new insights, for example, about social and cultural activities and the locations mentioned in the films. We look forward to this joint journey and to contributing to the preservation and transmission of the Warlpiri community's heritage.”
Leonard Hill, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS)
“The return of these culturally significant materials to the Warlpiri Community by Dr Eibl-Eibesfeldt and the Senckenberg's work to digitise this unique footage of the Warlpiri People captured by his father will allow Warlpiri youngsters to connect with their customs and culture for generations to come.
I commend Senckenberg for the care they have taken of this important archive and extend my sincere gratitude and appreciation to Dr Eibl-Eibesfeldt for his decision to return his father's collection to the Yuendumu community and the descendants of the Warlpiri lore men who aided his father.
It is an immense privilege to lead an institution like AIATSIS which supports projects –like this return of cultural heritage material to the Yuendumu Community and Warlpiri Project– that enable the intergenerational transfer of knowledge, truth-telling and healing for Australia's First Nations peoples.”
MEDIA CONTACTS
The Warlpiri Project
Karl Japaljarri Hampton
M: +61 418 390 351
E: karl.hampton68@hotmail.com
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Australia
M: +61 476 843 522
E: commsmedia@aiatsis.gov.au
Senckenberg – Leibniz Institution for Biodiversity and Earth System Research
Katharina Decker
T: +49 69 7542 1595
E: pressestelle@senckenberg.de