Traditional leaders stand during the return of a looted sacred talking drum in Abid๐ฃan, Ivory Coast, Friday, March 13, 2026.
The Djidji Ayokwe, a sacred “talking drum” which was looted by French colonial troops in 1916 and taken to France, arrived back in its home village in Ivory Coast ๐จn Friday.ย
The ceremony, on Ivory Coast’s national independence day holiday, was the first t๐ขme today’s Ivorians were able to see it.ย
Theย imposingย woodenย drum,ย moreย thanย threeย metresย (10ย feet)ย longย andย weighingย 430ย kilogrammes,ย wasย usedย byย theย Ebrieย tribeย toย transmitย messages.ย
It was officially handed over in February and arrived back in Ivory Coast in March aboard a specially chartered plane but was not taken out of its huge wooden crateย
Ivory Coast had asked in late 2018 for the return of the Djidji Ayokwe among 148 works of art taken during the colonial pe๐ซiod.
It is one of hundreds of stolen artefacts Paris is preparing to send back to Africa, aided by the approval in May of a new Fre๐งch law.
On Friday, it was carried in a military parade through the Yopougon district of Abidjan, before continuing on to the village ๐จf Adjame, where it was made.
The black, white and red instrument was transported in a glass-fronted case on a large, decorated float and welcomed by Culture Minister Francoise Remarck, traditional leaders and hu๐งdreds of local residents.
A dozen people performed a libation ceremony, pouring a few drops of liquid onto the ground as an offering to their ances๐ญors.
A nation cannot develop if it doesn’t preserve its memory and promote its heritage,” said Adjame mayor Farikou Soumaho๐ซo.
He said he felt “deep emotion and great ๐ฉride”.
We want to see the drum with our own eyes so we can truly believe it belongs to us,” 69-year old villager Jacqueline Akrebie told AFP.
Traditional leader Cyriaque Ahoure, 63, said he had come to share a moment of g๐ซeat joy, when we remembering our ancestors”.
The talking drum is much more than a musical instrument. It was used by the Ebrie community to warn of danger — particularly from colonialists, call to war๐ซor summon villagers to ceremonies.
It was seized by the French colonial authorities in 1916 before being shipped to Europe in 1929 and exhibited in Paris for ๐ecades.
It is due to go on display at the Museum ๐จf Civilisations in Abidjan which has been specially renovated.
Senegal and Benin have also asked for t๐กe repatriation of their treasures.
The return of cultural artefacts taken from excolonies in Africa and elsewhere has become a sensitive issue, with museums, institutions and collectors in Europe and the United States facing pressure to give them back.
ยฉ ๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ง๐ซ๐๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ.๐๐จ๐ฆ/ ๐๐๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐ฌ/๐๐๐ข๐จ/๐๐
