Monday, 4th November 2024: In a landmark event, the Pitt Rivers Museum has handed over a culturally significant Kenyah Badeng sunhat to the Kenyah Badeng Association (KEBANA), marking a major step in the return of Sarawak's historical treasures. Among the distinguished guests were The Honourable Datuk Sebastian Ting Chiew Yew, Deputy Minister for Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts, Prof. Dr. Laura Van Broekhoven, Director of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Datu Sherrina binti Hussaini, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry and Performing Arts Sarawak and Nancy Hj Jolhi, Director of the Sarawak Museum Department.

The handover ceremony was led by Mr. Richard Ovenden, Head of Gardens Libraries and Museums at Pitt Rivers Museum, who handed the artefact to Mr. Hilary Samah Tet, President of the Sarawak Kenyah Badeng Association (KEBANA). The Kenyah Badeng sunhat was originally obtained during a punitive expedition led by the Brooke Government forces to Usun Apau in 1895/1896. The sunhat, along with other Kenyah Badeng community cultural artefacts, was looted and later donated to the Sarawak Museum in 1903. The Second Rajah Charles Brooke then took the sunhat to the UK in 1905 for display at the Chesterton House Museum in Gloucestershire. After his death in 1918, the collection was dismantled, and the sunhat was acquired by the Pitt Rivers Museum in 1923, where it was rediscovered by Datin Dr Valerie Mashman, during her term as a Research Fellow in 2017-2018.

Efforts to return the sunhat began in 2018, spearheaded by the Sarawak Museum Department in collaboration with KEBANA and supported by the Ministry of Tourism, Creative Industry, and Performing Arts Sarawak. After extensive correspondence, official discussions and a visit to the Pitt Rivers Museum in May 2023, negotiations were successfully concluded during May 2024 with the agreement that the sunhat would be returned to its community, with the Sarawak Museum Department serving as its guardian.

This return signifies Sarawak's commitment to preserving its cultural heritage and ensuring that future generations benefit from its historical legacy.