After 150 years, a British museum finally returned to Ethiopia two locks of hair that were taken from the head of a popular emperor in the 19th century, Tewodros II.
The National Army Museum’s decision to return the hair was based on a formal request from Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital, and it came at the end of a yearlong commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the confrontation known as the Battle of Maqdala.
In March, Ethiopians sang and danced as the two pieces of hair were handed over to Culture and Tourism Minister Hirut Weldemariam at a ceremony in London. Historical accounts state that Tewodros killed himself rather than give himself up to the British when the latter captured his mountain capital, Maqdala in 1868 in order to rescue Europeans who had been taken captive.
