Affective Encounters, Spiritual Care and Responsible Witnessing in Edinburgh University’s “Skull Room”

Edinburgh University’s Anatomical Museum's ‘Skull Room’ holds the cranial remains of nearly 1800 people, in floor-to-ceiling glass cabinets, stolen by 19th-century naturalists and anthropologists. Despite being rarely accessed, the room elicits strong emotional reactions; sometimes moving individuals to seek action and redress. This paper examines the emotional landscapes inherent in repatriation processes of ancestral remains by reflecting on the museum’s first proactive repatriation to descendants in Turtle Island/Canada. The paper argues that ancestors remains are not inert ‘objects’, but lively agents with affective power that demand changes in their conditions. As powerful subjects, they elicit mourning, distress, fear and joy when treated as 'matters of concern'.

Using ethnographic data, interviews with institutional custodians, and personal reflections, I show how this agency is particularly ignited through the care work that 'humanises' ancestors, honours their individuality and spiritual power. After centuries of neglect, reunification with descendants allowed spiritual and non-physical needs of ancestors to be met. Bearing witness to embodied care practices underscores the gravity of these encounters and moves institutional actors to care about ancestors and their descendants. Scholars have further ethical responsibilities in activist-oriented projects, including reflecting on what they stand to gain and the limits of their knowing. The project highlights the emotional, human, and vulnerable aspects of curatorial and academic work, fostering transformative moments that connect descendants, ancestors, curators, researchers, and university administrators (who have the capacity to fund further proactive work). I examine how affective experiences mobilize various 'political emotions' to drive reparative futures for displaced ancestors.