Benin welcomes the return of treasures looted by France in 1892

(Cotonou) “Moved to tears”, the Beninese welcomed on Wednesday the return of 26 works from the royal treasures of Abomey, looted by French colonial troops in the 19th century and returned the day before by Paris.

These works, some of which are sacred in nature, arrived in Cotonou by plane in the middle of the afternoon. They were then conveyed in three trucks, escorted by horses, to the presidential palace where a solemn ceremony was organized.

Moved to tears

To the sound of traditional drums and musical instruments, hundreds of Beninese from all over the country flocked to the sidewalks to see these treasures. Adults and children, mostly dressed in colorful loincloths, applauded the trucks passing by. Some bowed to the ground, others, moved to tears, crossed their hands in a sign of respect.

Among the restored works are totem statues from the ancient kingdom of Abomey (in the south of present-day Benin) as well as the throne of King Béhanzin, looted during the sacking of the Abomey palace by colonial troops. French in 1892.

“When the truck passed me, I got chills. I knelt down, forehead against the ground, as a sign of allegiance, ”said Marcel Hounkonnou, a craftsman, to AFP. “All these objects that these kings our ancestors touched, they represent them in a way today,” adds the man from the capital Porto-Novo, 40 kilometers away.

“It’s so moving,” abounds Martine Vignon Agoli-Agbo, who lives in northern Benin and has traveled more than 500 kilometers with her two daughters to attend this historic moment.

“Return of our soul”

“Objects that are 200 years old, stolen and which we did not expect to return, are arriving in large numbers. I didn’t want to be told about this moment. And if my daughters are there, it is so that they can one day tell my grandchildren ”, adds M^me Vignon Agoli-Agbo.

In the crowd, a man had the date “10-11-2021” sewn onto his hat, to underline the historic nature of this return.

When the trucks arrived at the presidency, two little girls, in white loincloths and necklaces around their necks, a calabash in their hands, spilled water as an offering on the ground.

The crate containing the throne belonging to King Ghézo, who reigned over the kingdom of Abomey between 1818 and 1858, was unloaded on a red carpet. Around her, dances of the old kingdom were performed, but also those of the other kingdoms that made up Benin, before becoming a nation.

“I am devastated by the emotion,” said Beninese President Patrice Talon, visibly very touched, before delivering a 30-minute speech focused on national unity.

“It is the symbol of the return to Benin of our soul, of our identity, this return of the testimony of what we have been, of what we have existed before”, declared the Head of State, admitting that at the time of launching in 2016 a request for restitution he had “little certainty that this would happen one day”.

After the ceremony, the current king of Abomey Sagbadjou Glèlè, present alongside other traditional leaders from all over the country, expressed his deep emotion to AFP.

“I cannot explain the joy that grips me. These objects were intended from their departure for a return. Sooner or later they had to return so that the words spoken by our ancestors could be fulfilled ”.

“Restoration of dignity”

For Didier Marcel Houénoudé, Beninese professor of art history, the return of works “represents above all the restoration of dignity”

It “is also used for the reconstruction of memory. It is not only the people and the objects that have been looted, but also memory. This is filled with shame linked to the fall or failure of our people, ”he told AFP.

In the crowd on Wednesday, Akouavi Mari Dannon, a history teacher in a private college in Abomey, came to accompany her ten best students.

“It’s a whole part of our history that falls on us and we must recover and value it. It’s very important, ”she told AFP.

This solemn ceremony in Benin marked the last stage of an unprecedented process started 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 Mr. 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 subjected to two months of “acclimatization” to the new climate and humidity conditions, before being exhibited for three months at the Beninese presidency.

The treasures will then go to the old Portuguese fort of Ouidah and to the governor’s house, historic sites of slavery and European colonization, located on the coast, pending the construction of a new museum in Abomey.