France returns sacred talking drum looted from Côte d’Ivoire over 100 years ago | Côte d’Ivoire
A sacred artifact looted by French colonial authorities more than a century ago has been returned to Ivory Coast in one of the most significant cultural returns to a former French colony in years.
Djidji AyokweThe speaking drum, confiscated by French rulers in 1916, landed at the airport in Port Bouët, on the outskirts of the economic capital Abidjan, at 8.45am on Friday. Quai Branly – It was handed over to Ivorian authorities in Paris earlier this month after being removed from the Jacques Chirac Museum.
Aboussou Guy Mobio, chief of the Adjamé-Bingerville community, said: “He is returning to his people after a long absence from this land, and it is an honor and a relief for us to welcome him. This is the missing piece of the puzzle that is returning today… Receiving this sacred instrument is a relief, but also another form of connecting with our ancestors who were very close to this instrument.”
Talking drums are hourglass-shaped pressurized drums designed to mimic the tone, pitch and rhythm of human speech. Djidji Ayôkwé, whose weight is 4 meters This 430 kg rock had cultural and political significance as a symbol of resistance for the Ebrié people, who gave their name to the lagoon in Abidjan. Before and during colonial times, it was used to send messages many miles away to announce deaths or celebrations and, in some cases, to warn villages of impending danger. In one incident in 1916, after peasants resisted forced labor on the road, colonial authorities seized him and took him to France.
French president Emmanuel Macron promised to return the drum in 2021, but it took four years of debate and lobbying for the French parliament to approve and approve the decision.
“I feel deep emotions. We are truly living a moment of justice and remembrance,” Ivory Coast Minister of Culture and Francophonie Françoise Remarck said in her speech on Friday. President Alassane thanked Ouattara and Macron for what he called “a historic day.”
He then hit the drum and said: “Djidji Ayôkwé, today is a message for our youth and communities who choose to claim the date of your return… a symbol of social harmony, peace and dialogue… March 13 is just one step.”
A cultural community participated in a traditional tchaman dance as a forklift operator rolled the wooden crate holding the drum from the plane. Another ceremony is expected to herald the drum’s permanent installation at the Musée des Civilizations de Côte d’Ivoire in the Plateau prefecture at a later date, believed to be in April. In preparation for opening the exhibition to the public, UNESCO donated $100,000 (£75,400) for research and teaching at the museum through its Abidjan office.
Sylvie Memel Kassi, former director of the museum and founder of the TAPA Art and Culture Foundation, said the return of the drum to Ivory Coast paved the way for more compensation. “We are working on eight more objects,” he said, referring to Ivory Coast and French officials.
