The return is pending a process to resolve competing claims on the artifacts from Native Hawaiian groups and to determine what should be done with the objects.

Hui Malama I Na Kupuna 'O Hawai'i Nei opposed the order, arguing that the return would once against disturb the sanctity of the artifacts and that they remain safe and secure in a sealed cave.

Ezra said he has no evidence on the condition of the objects and ordered the return to the museum, which would secure the items.

But he made clear the museum cannot not put them on public display while 13 Native Hawaiian organizations sort out what should happen to the artifacts under the federal Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.

Hui Malama lawyers said they will immediately ask the 9th U.S.Circuit Court of Appeals to postpone the enforcement of the judge's ruling.

But it was not clear whether they could file and receive a response from the appeals by this afternoon, when Ezra is scheduled to formally file his decision.

The artifacts, known as the Forbes Caves Collection, include a female figure carved of wood and gourds decorated with human teeth. They were taken from the Big Island burial caves in 1905 and given to the museum. In 2000, the museum said it lent them to Hui Malama, but the group has resisted returning them, saying any transfer would further desecrate the burial site.

The disposition of the items has been a highly controversial issue among Native Hawaiians and others.

Ezra recognized that point.

"There is no way for me to decide this case to make everyone happy," he said. "There is simply no way to do that."

The order was requested by Na Lei Alii Kawananakoa and the Royal Hawaiian Academy of Traditional Arts, two of the 13 claimants.