Why museums are returning cultural treasures | Chip Colwell

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

A confession:

Priznajem,

I am an archaeologist and a museum curator,

arheolog sam i kustos muzeja,

but a paradoxical one.

ali paradoksalni.

For my museum, I collect things,

Prikupljam stvari za svoj muzej,

but I also return things back to where they came from.

ali ih i vraćam odakle su potekle.

I love museums because they're social and educational,

Obožavam muzeje jer su društveni i edukativni,

but I'm most drawn to them because of the magic of objects:

ali uglavnom me privlače zbog magije predmeta:

a one-million-year-old hand axe,

milion godina stara ručna sekira,

a totem pole, an impressionist painting

totem, impresionistička slika -

all take us beyond our own imaginations.

sve nas to vodi izvan granica sopstvene mašte.

In museums, we pause to muse, to gaze upon our human empire of things

U muzejima zastajemo da bismo razmišljali,

gledali naše ljudsko carstvo stvari uz promišljanje i čuđenje.

in meditation and wonder.

I understand why US museums alone

Razumem zašto samo američki muzeji

host more than 850 million visits each year.

ugoste više od 850 miliona posetilaca svake godine.

Yet, in recent years, museums have become a battleground.

Ipak, muzeji su poslednjih godina postali bojno polje.

Communities around the world don't want to see their culture

Zajednice širom sveta ne žele da vide svoju kulturu

in distant institutions which they have no control over.

u udaljenim institucijama nad kojima nemaju nikakvu kontrolu.

They want to see their cultural treasures

Žele da vide povratak

repatriated, returned to their places of origin.

svojih kulturnih blaga na mesto porekla.

Greece seeks the return of the Parthenon Marbles,

Grčka traži povratak Partenonskog mermera,

a collection of classical sculptures held by the British Museum.

zbirke klasičnih skulptura koja se čuva u Britanskom muzeju.

Egypt demands antiquities from Germany.

Egipat zahteva antikvitete iz Nemačke.

New Zealand's Maori want to see returned

Novozelandski Maori žele da se vrate

ancestral tattooed heads from museums everywhere.

tetovirane glave predaka iz muzeja širom sveta.

Yet these claims pale in comparison to those made by Native Americans.

Ipak, ovi zahtevi blede u poređenju sa onima koje su uputili Indijanci.

Already, US museums have returned more than one million artifacts

Američki muzeji su već vratili više od milion predmeta

and 50,000 sets of Native American skeletons.

i 50 000 indijanskih skeleta.

To illustrate what's at stake, let's start with the War Gods.

Da bih ilustrovao šta je u pitanju, počnimo sa bogovima rata.

This is a wood carving

Ovo je duborez

made by members of the Zuni tribe in New Mexico.

koji su napravili pripadnici plemena Zuni u Novom Meksiku.

In the 1880s, anthropologists began to collect them

Antropolozi su počeli da ih prikupljaju 1880-ih

as evidence of American Indian religion.

kao dokaz o indijanskoj religiji.

They came to be seen as beautiful,

Došlo je do toga da su ih sagledavali kao lepe,

the precursor to the stark sculptures of Picasso and Paul Klee,

prethodnike oštrih skulptura Pikasa i Pola Klea

helping to usher in the modern art movement.

koji su pomogli pokretanje modernog umetničkog pokreta.

From one viewpoint, the museum did exactly as it's supposed to

Iz jednog ugla, muzej je uradio baš ono što je trebalo

with the War God.

u slučaju boga rata.

It helped introduce a little-known art form

To je pomoglo da se uvede malo poznata umetnička forma

for the world to appreciate.

koju će svet ceniti.

But from another point of view,

Ali, sa drugog stanovišta,

the museum had committed a terrible crime of cultural violence.

muzej je počinio strašan zločin kulturnog nasilja.

For Zunis, the War God is not a piece of art,

Za Zune, bog rata nije umetničko delo,

it is not even a thing.

pa čak nije ni stvar.

It is a being.

To je biće.

For Zunis, every year,

Kod Zuna, svake godine,

priests ritually carve new War Gods,

sveštenici ritualno rezbare nove ratne bogove,

the Ahayu:da,

Ahajude,

breathing life into them in a long ceremony.

u dugoj ceremoniji u kojoj im udišu život.

They are placed on sacred shrines

Smešteni su na svetilištima

where they live to protect the Zuni people

gde žive da bi zašitili narod Zuni

and keep the universe in balance.

i održavali ravnotežu u univerzumu.

No one can own or sell a War God.

Niko ne može da poseduje ili da proda boga rata.

They belong only to the earth.

Oni pripadaju samo zemlji.

And so Zunis want them back from museums

Zato Zuni žele da se vrate iz muzeja

so they can go to their shrine homes

u svoj dom, svetilište,

to fulfill their spiritual purpose.

da bi ispunili svoju duhovnu svrhu.

What is a curator to do?

Šta kustos treba da uradi?

I believe that the War Gods should be returned.

Ja verujem da bogove rata treba vratiti.

This might be a startling answer.

To je možda zapanjujući odgovor.

After all, my conclusion contradicts the refrain

Uostalom, moj zaključak je u suprotnosti sa rečima

of the world's most famous archaeologist:

koje je ponavljao najpoznatiji svetski arheolog:

"That belongs in a museum!"

„To pripada u muzeju!“

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

is what Indiana Jones said, not just to drive movie plots,

To je ono što je Indijana Džouns govorio, ne samo radi pokretanja zapleta filma,

but to drive home the unquestionable good of museums for society.

već i da bi naglasio nesumnjivu dobrobit muzeja za društvo.

I did not come to my view easily.

Nisam lako došao do svog stava.

I grew up in Tucson, Arizona,

Odrastao sam u Tusonu u Arizoni

and fell in love with the Sonoran Desert's past.

i zaljubio sam se u prošlost pustinje Sonore.

I was amazed that beneath the city's bland strip malls

Bio sam zapanjen što se ispod gradskih jednoličnih tržnih centara

was 12,000 years of history just waiting to be discovered.

nalazi 12 000 godina istorije koja samo čeka da je otkriju.

When I was 16 years old, I started taking archaeology classes

Kada sam imao 16 godina, počeo sam da pohađam časove arheologije

and going out on digs.

i odlazim na iskopavanja.

A high school teacher of mine even helped me set up my own laboratory

Nastavnik mi je čak pomogao da postavim svoju laboratoriju

to study animal bones.

da bih izučavao kosti životinja.

But in college,

Ali sam na fakultetu

I came to learn that my future career had a dark history.

shvatio da moja buduća karijera ima mračnu prošlost.

Starting in the 1860s,

Počevši od 1860-ih,

Native American skeletons became a tool for science,

skeleti Indijanaca su postali oruđe nauke,

collected in the thousands

a prikupljeno ih je hiljade

to prove new theories of social and racial hierarchies.

da bi se dokazale nove teorije o društvenim i rasnim hijerarhijama.

Native American human remains were plundered from graves,

Ljudski ostaci Indijanaca pljačkani su iz grobova,

even taken fresh from battlefields.

a čak su i uzimani sveži sa ratišta.

When archaeologists came across white graves,

Kada su arheolozi nailazili na grobnice belaca,

the skeleton was often quickly reburied,

skeleti su često brzo ponovo zakopani,

while Native bones were deposited as specimens on museum shelves.

dok su se kosti Indijanaca čuvale kao primerci na policama muzeja.

In the wake of war, stolen land, boarding schools,

Nakon rata, ukradene zemlje, internata,

laws banning religion,

zakona koji su zabranjivali religiju,

anthropologists collected sacred objects

antropolozi su prikupljali svete objekte,

in the belief that Native peoples were on the cusp of extinction.

verujući da su indijanska plemena na rubu izumiranja.

You can call it racism or colonialism, but the labels don't matter

Možete to nazvati rasizmom ili kolonijalizmom,

ali etiketa nije bitna koliko činjenica

as much as the fact that over the last century,

da su tokom proteklog veka Indijancima oduzimana prava i kultura.

Native American rights and culture were taken from them.

In 1990, after years of Native protests,

Godine 1990, nakon više godina protesta Indijanaca,

the US government, through the US Congress,

vlada SAD-a je preko američkog Kongresa

finally passed a law that allowed Native Americans to reclaim

konačno usvojila zakon koji je omogućio Indijancima da povrate

cultural items, sacred objects and human remains from museums.

kulturne predmete, sakralne objekte i ljudske ostatke iz muzeja.

Many archaeologists were panicked.

Mnogi arheolozi su se uspaničili.

For scientists,

Za naučnike može biti teško da sasvim shvate

it can be hard to fully grasp how a piece of wood can be a living god

kako komad drveta može biti živi bog

or how spirits surround bones.

ili kako duhovi okružuju kosti.

And they knew that modern science, especially with DNA,

Znali su da moderna nauka, posebno pomoću DNK,

can provide luminous insights into the past.

može pružiti sjajne uvide u prošlost.

As the anthropologist Frank Norwick declared,

Kao što je antropolog Frenk Norvik izjavio:

"We are doing important work that benefits all of mankind.

„Obavljamo važan posao koji koristi čitavom čovečanstvu.

We are not returning anything to anyone."

Ne vraćamo nikome ništa.“

As a college student, all of this was an enigma

Za mene kao studenta je sve ovo bila zagonetka

that was hard to decipher.

koju je bilo teško odgonetnuti.

Why did Native Americans want their heritage back

Zašto su Indijanci hteli da im se vrati nasleđe

from the very places preserving it?

sa mesta koja su ih čuvala?

And how could scientists spend their entire lives

I kako su naučnici provodili čitav život

studying dead Indians

izučavajući mrtve Indijance,

but seem to care so little about living ones?

a kao da im nije baš bilo stalo do živih?

I graduated but wasn't sure what to do next,

Diplomirao sam ali nisam znao šta bih sledeće radio,

so I traveled.

pa sam putovao.

One day, in South Africa,

Jednog dana, u Južnoj Africi,

I visited Nelson Mandela's former prison cell on Robben Island.

posetio sam nekadašnju zatvorsku ćeliju Nelsona Mandele na ostrvu Roben.

I had an epiphany.

Doživeo sam prosvetljenje.

Here was a man who helped a country bridge vast divides

Ovde je bio čovek koji je pomogao zemlji da premosti ogromne podele

to seek, however imperfectly, reconciliation.

da bi se pronašlo, makar nesavršeno, pomirenje.

I'm no Mandela, but I ask myself:

Nisam Mandela, ali zapitao sam se:

Could I, too, plant seeds of hope in the ruins of the past?

„Mogu li i ja da zasadim seme nade u ruševinama prošlosti?“

In 2007, I was hired as a curator

Godine 2007. angažovan sam kao kustos

at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.

u Denverskom muzeju prirode i nauke.

Our team agreed that unlike many other institutions,

Naš tim se složio da se, za razliku od mnogih drugih institucija,

we needed to proactively confront the legacy of museum collecting.

moramo proaktivno suočiti sa nasleđem muzejskih prikupljanja.

We started with the skeletons in our closet,

Počeli smo sa skeletima u našem ormaru,

100 of them.

100 njih.

Nakon više meseci i godina, sastali smo se sa desetinama plemena

After months and then years, we met with dozens of tribes

to figure out how to get these remains home.

da bismo smislili kako da vratimo te ostatke kući.

And this is hard work.

To je naporan posao.

It involves negotiating who will receive the remains,

Podrazumeva pregovore oko toga ko će primiti ostatke,

how to respectfully transfer them,

kako ih s poštovanjem preneti,

where will they go.

gde će otići.

Native American leaders become undertakers,

Indijanski lideri postaju pogrebnici

planning funerals for dead relatives they had never wanted unearthed.

i planiraju sahrane za mrtve rođake čije iskopavanje nikad nisu želeli.

A decade later, the Denver Museum and our Native partners

Deceniju kasnije, Denverski muzej i naši indijanski partneri

have reburied nearly all of the human remains in the collection.

ponovo su zakopali skoro sve ljudske ostatke u zbirci.

We have returned hundreds of sacred objects.

Vratili smo stotine svetih objekata.

But I've come to see that these battles are endless.

Ali, shvatio sam da su ove bitke beskrajne.

Repatriation is now a permanent feature of the museum world.

Repatrijacija je sada stalna odlika muzejskog sveta.

Hundreds of tribes are waiting their turn.

Stotine plemena čekaju svoj red.

There are always more museums with more stuff.

Uvek ima još muzeja sa još stvari.

Every catalogued War God in an American public museum

Svaki bog rata u katalozima američkih javnih muzeja

has now been returned -- 106, so far --

je vraćen - njih 106 do sada -

but there are more beyond the reach of US law,

ali ima ih još van domašaja zakona SAD-a,

in private collections and outside our borders.

u privatnim kolekcijama i van granica naše zemlje.

In 2014, I had the chance to travel with a respected religious leader

Godine 2014. sam imao priliku da putujem sa poštovanim verskim vođom

from the Zuni tribe named Octavius Seowtewa

iz plemena Zuni po imenu Oktavije Saoteva

to visit five museums in Europe with War Gods.

kako bismo posetili pet muzeja sa bogovima rata u Evropi.

At the Ethnological Museum of Berlin,

U Etnološkom muzeju u Berlinu,

we saw a War God with a history of dubious care.

videli smo boga rata o kome se sumnjivo brinulo u prošlosti.

An overly enthusiastic curator had added chicken feathers to it.

Previše entuzijastični kustos dodao mu je kokošje perje.

Its necklace had once been stolen.

Ogrlica je bila ukradena.

At the Musée du quai Branly in Paris,

U Muzeju ulice Branli u Parizu,

an official told us that the War God there is now state property

jedan službenik nam je rekao da je bog rata sada državna imovina

with no provisions for repatriation.

bez odredbi o repatrijaciji.

He insisted that the War God no longer served Zunis

Insistirao je da bog rata više ne služi Zunima,

but museum visitors.

već posetiocima muzeja.

He said, "We give all of the objects to the world."

Rekao je: „Mi dajemo sve predmete svetu.“

At the British Museum,

U Britanskom muzeju,

we were warned that the Zuni case would establish a dangerous precedent

upozorili su nas da će slučaj Zuni uspostaviti opasan presedan

for bigger disputes,

za veće sporove,

such as the Parthenon Marbles, claimed by Greece.

kao što je Partenonski mermer koji zahteva Grčka.

After visiting the five museums,

Nakon obilaska tih pet muzeja,

Octavius returned home to his people empty-handed.

Oktavije se vratio kući svom narodu praznih ruku.

He later told me,

Kasnije mi je rekao:

"It hurts my heart to see the Ahayu:da so far away.

„Srce me boli kad vidim da su Ahajude toliko udaljene.

They all belong together.

Svi oni treba da su zajedno.

It's like a family member that's missing from a family dinner.

To je kao kada član porodice nedostaje na porodičnoj večeri.

When one is gone, their strength is broken."

Kada jednog nema, njihova snaga je narušena.“

I wish that my colleagues in Europe and beyond

Voleo bih da moje kolege u Evropi i šire

could see that the War Gods do not represent the end of museums

uvide da bogovi rata ne predstavljaju kraj muzeja,

but the chance for a new beginning.

već priliku za novi početak.

When you walk the halls of a museum,

Kada hodate hodnicima muzeja,

you're likely just seeing about one percent

verovatno vidite samo jedan procenat ukupne kolekcije.

of the total collections.

The rest is in storage.

Ostatak je u skladištu.

Even after returning 500 cultural items and skeletons,

Čak i nakon vraćanja 500 kulturnih predmeta i skeleta,

my museum still retains 99.999 percent of its total collections.

moj muzej je i dalje zadržao 99,999 odsto ukupne zbirke.

Though we no longer have War Gods,

Mada više nemamo bogove rata,

we have Zuni traditional pottery,

imamo tradicionalnu keramiku Zunija,

jewelry, tools, clothing and arts.

nakit, oruđe, odeću i umetnička dela.

And even more precious than these objects

A još dragoceniji od ovih predmeta

are the relationships that we formed with Native Americans

je odnos koji smo stvorili sa Indijancima

through the process of repatriation.

kroz proces repatrijacije.

Now, we can ask Zunis to share their culture with us.

Sada možemo da zatražimo od Zunija da podele svoju kulturu sa nama.

Not long ago, I had the chance to visit the returned War Gods.

Ne tako davno, imao sam priliku da posetim vraćene bogove rata.

A shrine sits up high atop a mesa overlooking beautiful Zuni homeland.

Svetište se nalazi visoko na platou iznad prekrasne domovine Zunija.

The shrine is enclosed by a roofless stone building

Svetište je ograđeno kamenom građevinom bez krova

threaded at the top with barbed wire

oivičenom bodljikavom žicom,

to ensure that they're not stolen again.

kako bi se postarali da ih ne ukradu ponovo.

And there they are, inside,

Tu su, unutra,

the Ahayu:da,

Ahajude,

106 War Gods amid offerings of turquoise, cornmeal, shell,

106 bogova rata oko kojih su darovi od tirkiza, kukuruzne kaše, školjki,

even T-shirts ...

pa čak i majice...

a modern gift to ancient beings.

moderan poklon drevnim bićima.

And standing there,

Dok sam tamo stajao,

I got a glimpse at the War Gods' true purpose in the world.

dobio sam uvid u istinsku svrhu ratnih bogova u svetu.

And it occurred to me then

I onda mi je palo na pamet

that we do not get to choose the histories that we inherit.

da ne možemo da biramo prošlost koju nasleđujemo.

Museum curators today did not pillage ancient graves

Današnji kustosi nisu pljačkali drevne grobnice

or steal spiritual objects,

niti krali spiritualne predmete,

but we can accept responsibility for correcting past mistakes.

ali možemo prihvatiti odgovornost za ispravljanje grešaka iz prošlosti.

We can help restore dignity,

Možemo pomoći da se vrati dostojanstvo,

hope and humanity to Native Americans,

nada i čovečnost Indijancima,

the very people who were once the voiceless objects of our curiosity.

upravo onim ljudima koji su nekada bili

predmeti naše radoznalosti bez prava glasa.

And this doesn't even require us to fully understand others' beliefs,

To čak ne zahteva od nas da u potpunosti razumemo verovanja drugih ljudi;

only that we respect them.

samo da ih poštujemo.

Museums are temples to things past.

Muzeji su hramovi prošlosti.

Now they must also become places for living cultures.

Sada moraju postati mesta za žive kulture.

As I turned to walk away from the shrine,

Dok sam se okretao da odem od svetišta,

I drank in the warm summer air,

udahnuo sam topao letnji vazduh

and I watched an eagle turn lazy circles high above.

i posmatrao kako orao lenjo ide ukrug visoko gore.

I thought of the Zunis,

Pomislio sam na Zunije,

whose offerings ensure that their culture is not dead and gone

čiji se darovi bogovima staraju da njihova kultura ne bude mrtva i nestala

but alive and well,

već živa i zdrava,

and I could think of no better place for the War Gods to be.

i nisam mogao da zamislim bolje mesto za bogove rata.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)