https://en.sputniknews.africa/20241223/africas-looted-history-a-call-for-broader-african-heritage-repatriation-1069858615.html
Africa's Looted History: A Call for Broader African Heritage Repatriation
Africa's Looted History: A Call for Broader African Heritage Repatriation
Sputnik Africa
Recently, Benin succeeded in removing from a Paris auction the symbols of power that belonged to King Behanzin of Dahomey and were taken to France more than... 23.12.2024, Sputnik Africa
2024-12-23T17:53+0100
2024-12-23T17:53+0100
2024-12-23T17:59+0100
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Following Benin's recent success in preventing the auction of King Behanzin's royal symbols in Paris, an African expert spoke to Sputnik Africa about the deeper significance of these artifacts and the wider implications of the ongoing struggle to repatriate Africa's looted cultural heritage.These objects were not just "pieces of art"; they were an integral part of social and ideological networks and had spiritual significance, "they had symbolic functions," said the Ghanaian expert.He added, "So many of those collections are actually spirituality-laden. And in that regard, we do not just see them as objects. They are entities, entities through which people connected with the metaphysical world."
https://en.sputniknews.africa/20241223/can-thief-tell-you-what-to-do-african-expert-on-restitution-of-looted-african-artifacts-1069855732.html
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africa, benin, paris, west africa, benin bronzes, ghana, africa insight, colonialism, museums
africa, benin, paris, west africa, benin bronzes, ghana, africa insight, colonialism, museums
Africa's Looted History: A Call for Broader African Heritage Repatriation
17:53 23.12.2024 (Updated: 17:59 23.12.2024) Muhammad Nooh Osman
Writer/Editor
Recently, Benin succeeded in removing from a Paris auction the symbols of power that belonged to King Behanzin of Dahomey and were taken to France more than 130 years ago. The Beninese authorities asked the auction organizers not to sell relics from Dahomey, which was located in West Africa on the territory of present-day Benin and Togo.
Following Benin's recent success in preventing the auction of
King Behanzin's royal symbols in Paris, an African expert spoke to Sputnik Africa about the deeper significance of these artifacts and the wider implications of the ongoing struggle to repatriate Africa's looted cultural heritage.
"The cultural materials that were expropriated, looted and in some cases stolen, particularly during the period of the colonization of Africa, are so valuable in various ways. We can talk about the technological know-how of the time," Prof. Kodzo Gavua, Chair of the Technical Committee of the Ghana Heritage Committee, said.
These objects were not just "pieces of art"; they were an integral part of social and ideological networks and had spiritual significance, "they had symbolic functions," said the Ghanaian expert.
"In many African societies, especially those I am familiar with in the western part of the continent, there is no separation between matter and spirit. Matter and spirit are intertwined," said Prof. Gavua, underscoring the crucial spiritual dimension that is often overlooked in discussions of repatriation.
He added, "So many of those collections are actually spirituality-laden. And in that regard, we do not just see them as objects. They are entities, entities through which people connected with the metaphysical world."
