Abstract Colonial masters considered it their right to take human remains collected from colonies or plundered as a result of war. The skulls of Chief Mkwawa and the sub-chief Songea were looted in the same manner from Tanganyika (now Tanzania) to Germany. While Chief Mkwawa’s skull was returned in 1954, the demands for sub-chief Songea’s skull are ongoing, with the Tanzanian community contesting ownership of human remains in European museums. The absence of bones in graves, particularly those of chiefs, have a major impact on the colonised people as graves are associated with communities’ spirituality and wellbeing. This article shows that without a final resting place for the victims of colonialism, mourning is difficult, traumatic and endless. Individuals, communities and nations bestow social, cultural and political significance on human remains, even those curated in museums. The significance of each group is attached to the affective memorialisation of personal bereavement. What happens, then, when the memorialised graves were created at a time when mourning was impossible and the authority to bury or not to bury was in hands of the colonisers? How do the colonial plunder of human body parts and the demands for their return unfold in the contemporary history of Tanzania? These are some of the questions

中文翻译：

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绝望的哀悼和萎缩的表现：两个头骨的故事

摘要 殖民统治者认为从殖民地收集或因战争掠夺的人类遗骸是他们的权利。从坦噶尼喀（今坦桑尼亚）到德国，姆夸瓦酋长和副酋长松吉亚的头骨也以同样的方式被洗劫一空。虽然姆夸瓦酋长的头骨于 1954 年归还，但对副酋长松吉亚头骨的要求仍在继续，坦桑尼亚社区正在争夺欧洲博物馆中人类遗骸的所有权。坟墓中没有骨头，尤其是酋长的骨头，对殖民地人民有重大影响，因为坟墓与社区的灵性和福祉有关。这篇文章表明，如果殖民主义的受害者没有最后的安息之地，哀悼是困难的、创伤性的和无止境的。个人、社区和国家赋予社会、人类遗骸的文化和政治意义，即使是那些在博物馆里收藏的遗骸。每个团体的意义都与对个人丧亲之痛的情感纪念有关。那么，当纪念坟墓是在无法进行哀悼并且埋葬或不埋葬的权力掌握在殖民者手中的时候创建的，会发生什么？在坦桑尼亚的当代历史中，对人体部位的殖民掠夺及其归还的要求如何展开？这是一些问题 当纪念坟墓是在无法哀悼并且埋葬或不埋葬的权力掌握在殖民者手中的时候创建的？在坦桑尼亚的当代历史中，对人体部位的殖民掠夺及其归还的要求如何展开？这是一些问题 当纪念坟墓是在无法哀悼并且埋葬或不埋葬的权力掌握在殖民者手中的时候创建的？在坦桑尼亚的当代历史中，对人体部位的殖民掠夺及其归还的要求如何展开？这是一些问题