A century after it was taken away during the colonial era, a sacred drum central to the traditions of Ivory Coast’s Atchan community has finally been returned from France.
French authorities formally handed back the Djidji Ayôkwé on Friday, marking the first time France has repatriated a cultural artifact to Ivory Coast. The move forms part of a broader initiative launched by the French government nearly ten years ago aimed at sending looted African heritage objects back to their countries of origin.
The imposing carved wooden drum, once used by the Atchan people in the Abidjan area to relay messages between villages, was seized by French colonial administrators in 1916. It is one of at least 140 items Ivory Coast has requested from France as it seeks the return of cultural treasures taken during the colonial period.
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“This is a historic day and a moment of justice and remembrance,” Ivory Coast Culture Minister Françoise Remarck said at an event to receive the artifact at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny International Airport.
The Djidji Ayôkwé, whose name translates as “panther-lion,” stretches roughly 11.5 feet in length and weighs close to 950 pounds. Historians note that beyond its ceremonial role, the drum once served as a warning system for villages when colonial authorities attempted to impose forced labor recruitment.
France’s commitment to returning African cultural artifacts gained momentum in 2018 when President Emmanuel Macron announced a new policy after commissioning a report from academic researchers urging repatriation. To facilitate the transfer of the drum, the French Parliament approved a special law last year allowing it to be removed from national collections.
Before the artifact could be returned, traditional leaders of the Atchan community traveled to Paris to carry out rituals that lifted the drum’s sacred status, a step considered necessary to permit conservation work and transportation.
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Atchan representatives present at the ceremony in Abidjan said the moment carried powerful meaning tied to memory and identity.
“After a long stay far from its land, our sacred drum is finally returning to its people,” said Aboussou Guy Mobio, chief of the village of Adjamé-Bingerville. “It is like the missing piece of our history coming back,” Mobio added.
Authorities say the drum will first be kept in a secure facility for about a month while it gradually adjusts from Paris’s dry environment to Abidjan’s humid tropical climate. The controlled process is meant to protect the centuries-old wood from cracking.
Once the acclimatization period is complete, the artifact is expected to be placed on public display in April at the newly refurbished Museum of Civilizations in Abidjan, the AP reported.
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