Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 25 Feb. (Europa Press) –
The president of the Tamimos Foundation, José Miguel Martín, has expressed his support on Tuesday for the transfer of the ‘mummy of Erques’ to Tenerife, though he cautions that it cannot be “in any manner” and must come with the assurance that it will not be displayed to the public.
In a statement, he elaborated that the report from the Ministry of Culture represents a “progress” in the approach to the treatment of human remains and the “dominant museological narrative” in the country, which “lags behind” discussions occurring in other societies that have experienced colonisation in Latin America, Africa, and Asia.
Martín asserts that “there is no doubt that we are presented with a golden opportunity for Erques ‘Xaxo’ to return to the Canary Islands, but this must not be done lightly. The Canary institutions, political parties, and their public representatives must rise to the occasion and commit to refraining from exhibiting human remains in the island’s museums.”
The Tamimos Foundation believes that the commitment letter issued by the Ministry of Culture for State Museums “somehow outlines a framework for Canary institutions to follow, which must be even more ambitious and initiate a public discussion involving the Academy, cultural organisations, and civil society to ensure that the Canary Islands do not lag behind and that no human remains continue to be displayed in their museums.”
According to Martín, this would mean “continuing the established principles in Law 11/2019, dated April 25, regarding Cultural Heritage of the Canary Islands, which in its article 87 emphasizes the need for the conservation of the Miradado Bodies and other remains ‘with great delicacy and respect for the dignity that all peoples possess’.”
In this regard, he stated, “the current exhibition narrative that trivialises the human remains belonging to the ancient Canarians must be brought to an end, while simultaneously protecting and even celebrating those of any other human group, which is often the case in colonial narratives.”
