(3 Minutes Read)
The Djidji Ayôkwé drum was taken from the Ivory Coast by the French army during the colonial period in 1916. It weighs 530 kilograms and is three metres long.
France will return the sacred Djidji Ayôkwé drum to the Ivory Coast. The French National Assembly voted, confirming a similar vote in the French Senate in April.
The passed legislation allows for the historical artefact, nicknamed the “talking drum” for being used to communicate warning messages up to thirty kilometres between villages, to be declassified and eventually transferred to Abidjan.
The Djidji Ayôkwé drum was taken from the Ivory Coast by the French army during the colonial period in 1916. It weighs 530 kilograms and is three metres long. The wooden drum was restored in 2022, following a request by the Ivory Coast three years earlier.
In November last year, the governments of both countries signed a deposit agreement, which paved the way for the instrument’s restitution.
Read Also:
https://trendsnafrica.com/ghana-and-ivory-coast-finalise-regional-energy-cooperation/
France’s legislative process to return stolen objects like the drum has, however, been criticised as overall slow. To date, only 27 historical artefacts taken during the colonial period have been returned to their countries of origin, notably Benin and Senegal.
