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Looking Beyond the Face of Ono Niha
Tuada Katumbukha
My name is Tuada Katumbukha, the eldest son of a noble man (Balugu) Semawu, leader (tuhenöri) of desa Tumöri.
You might wonder why I look like I’m sleeping, or like a statue—this isn’t really my face, but a plaster cast made by a Dutchman named J.P. Kleiweg de Zwaan in 1910. He took my face, along with those of 63 other Ono Niha to the Netherlands for study and museum display.
I was forgotten, hidden in storage, but now I’m here to tell my story. Was it right to take my face? Should it stay in the Netherlands, or come back to Nias? Discover my story and tell me what you think!
Copy of the plaster cast of Katumbukha
Coll. Universiteitsmuseum Utrecht
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