Beninese “moved to tears” welcomed on November 10 afternoon in solemnity and with immense emotion 26 works from the royal treasures of Abomey, looted by French colonial troops in the 19th century and returned the day before by Paris.
The plane carrying these treasures landed around 3:15 p.m. local time (2:15 p.m. GMT) at Cotonou airport, the economic capital of Benin, where several members of the Benin government were waiting for the unloading of the boxes carrying these works.
“There are moments in the history of a nation that change the course of things. This moment that we are living, it is a moment that will remain engraved, it is an important moment“Foreign Minister Aurélien Agbenonci said on the tarmac.
Along the road between the airport and the presidency, where the works will be transported by truck and where a ceremony is planned, hundreds of people flocked to watch the passage of these treasures, some of which are sacred in character. .
To the sound of traditional drums and musical instruments, Beninese from all over the country were waiting on the sidewalks. A man had the date of the “10.11.2021”, to underline the historic nature of this return.
Among the works are totem statues from the ancient kingdom of Abomey as well as the throne of King Béhanzin, looted during the sacking of the Abomey Palace by French colonial troops in 1892. “I came to convince myself that these works have really returned to the country. I am moved to tears“, launches, shaken, Ousmane Agbegbindin, a Beninese 45 years old.
“It is true that we cannot see the objects, but the mere fact of knowing that the thrones of our ancestors, their shoes, racks and other objects are in these trucks has an effect on me that I cannot describe to you.“, loose this entrepreneur, his cheeks wet with tears.
Same emotion for Martine Vignon Agoli-Agbo, who lives in northern Benin and who has traveled more than 500 kilometers with her two daughters to attend this historic moment. “We have been in Cotonou for 24 hours, just to experience the spectacle of the arrival of these treasures. It’s so moving“, she says. “Objects 200 years old, stolen and of which one did not expect the return, arrive in large numbers. I didn’t want to be told about this moment. And if my daughters are there, it’s so that they can one day tell my grandchildren“, she continued.
For Didier Marcel Houénoudé, Beninese professor of art history, the return of works “above all represent the restoration of the dignity“. He “is also used for the reconstruction of memory. It is not only the people and objects that have been looted, but also memory. It is filled with shame linked to the fall or failure of our people“, did he declare.
In the crowd, Akouavi Mari Dannon, a history teacher in a private college in Abomey, came to accompany her ten best students. “It is an entire part of our history that falls on us and we must recover and value it. It is very importantt, “she told AFP.
In the gardens of the Beninese presidency, where the welcoming ceremony is to be led by President Patrice Talon, a red carpet has been rolled out. The current king of Abomey Dah Sagbadjou Glèlè, members of his family and many Beninese dignitaries were sitting on chairs waiting for the arrival of the boxes.
This solemn ceremony in Benin marks the last stage of an unprecedented process initiated with the promise made in 2017 by French President Emmanuel Macron to proceed with restitution of African heritage in France.
The day before in Paris, President Macron had received Patrice Talon to finalize the restitution of these 26 treasures preserved so far at the Parisian museum of Quai Branly. After the ceremony, the works will be submitted for two months “acclimatization“to the new climate and humidity conditions, before being exposed for three months to the Beninese presidency.
The treasures will then go to the old Portuguese fort of Ouidah and to the governor’s house, historic places of slavery and European colonization, located on the coast, pending the construction of a new museum in Abomey.