Africa Sees Some Artifacts Returned, Seeks Many More
2022-08-07
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1African countries have reclaimed many historic objects, called artifacts, from European countries.
2Recently, Nigeria and Germany signed a deal for the return of hundreds of artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes.
3The deal followed French President Emmanuel Macron's decision last year to sign over 26 pieces known as the Abomey Treasures.
4Those are valuable artworks from the 19th century Dahomey kingdom in present-day Benin.
5But many artifacts are still missing and some countries have also been resistant to returning them.
6One such object is an eight-legged seat from the old kingdom in Uganda.
7The important artifact now sits at a museum thousands of kilometers away in Britain.
8The wooden seat is housed at the University of Oxford.
9It is one of at least 279 objects there taken from the Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom during colonial times.
10Oxford has fought off attempts to have the artifact taken back to Uganda, saying it was donated to the university.
11Apollo John Rwamparo is a deputy prime minister of Uganda.
12He urged the British to do "like the French and the Germans have done and return the artifacts."
13Uganda officials are preparing to meet in November with the University of Cambridge in Britain.
14The school has an unknown number of artifacts from Africa.
15It recently returned a bronze cockerel to Nigeria.
16But London's British Museum has been hard to negotiate with, said Rose Mwanja Nkaale.
17She is Uganda's commissioner for museums and monuments.
18"We can start with those that are willing to cooperate. It is not useful to fight these people."
19The British Museum holds a large collection from across Africa.
20It is protected by a 1963 law preventing the museum from returning artifacts unless the objects are considered unfit or useless.
21Some African officials believe that law is increasingly weak as other nations have been more open to returning them.
22Abba Isa Tijani is director-general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments.
23He said Nigeria is pressuring Britain and other countries to change the laws permitting the return of disputed collections.
24But he expressed concern that while some countries are starting to open up, in Britain such efforts "have not even started."
25Many of the artifacts from Africa cannot even be found.
26That led to an organization started by late Congolese art collector Sindika Dokolo.
27It offers to buy stolen African art from collections in foreign countries.
28By 2020, when Dokolo died, his group had successfully recovered 15 items.
29However, recovery of artifacts remains a struggle for African governments.
30And the African Union has put the return of stolen cultural property up for discussion.
31The union aims to soon have a common policy on the issue.
32Zimbabwe has pushed for the return of about 3,000 artifacts from Britain.
33They include weapons as well as the skulls of fighters who fought against colonialism.
34Their heads were cut off and shipped away as war prizes.
35Talks between British and Zimbabwean officials have produced no big agreement.
36But the issue is so important for Zimbabwe that President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year suggested an exchange.
37Zimbabwe would return the remains of colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who is buried in the country.
38In return, Zimbabwe would receive the remains of the fighters.
39Rwanda recently made an agreement with its former colonial occupier, Belgium.
40The deal included the sharing of digital copies of over 4,000 songs and other recordings kept at the Royal Museum for Central Africa outside Brussels.
41But the location of the remains of one of Rwanda's last kings, Yuhi Musinga, is a serious issue in the East African country.
42Many Rwandans believe the body of Musinga, who resisted the Belgians and died in Congo, was sent to Belgium.
43Antoine Nyagahene is a professor of history at Rwanda's Gitwe University.
44He said there should be some justice in that case.
45"We were robbed of our cultural values and, as you know, a people without roots are a people without a soul," he said.
46I'm Dan Novak.
1African countries have reclaimed many historic objects, called artifacts, from European countries. 2Recently, Nigeria and Germany signed a deal for the return of hundreds of artifacts known as the Benin Bronzes. The deal followed French President Emmanuel Macron's decision last year to sign over 26 pieces known as the Abomey Treasures. Those are valuable artworks from the 19th century Dahomey kingdom in present-day Benin. 3But many artifacts are still missing and some countries have also been resistant to returning them. 4One such object is an eight-legged seat from the old kingdom in Uganda. The important artifact now sits at a museum thousands of kilometers away in Britain. 5The wooden seat is housed at the University of Oxford. It is one of at least 279 objects there taken from the Bunyoro-Kitara kingdom during colonial times. Oxford has fought off attempts to have the artifact taken back to Uganda, saying it was donated to the university. 6Apollo John Rwamparo is a deputy prime minister of Uganda. He urged the British to do "like the French and the Germans have done and return the artifacts." 7Uganda officials are preparing to meet in November with the University of Cambridge in Britain. The school has an unknown number of artifacts from Africa. It recently returned a bronze cockerel to Nigeria. 8But London's British Museum has been hard to negotiate with, said Rose Mwanja Nkaale. She is Uganda's commissioner for museums and monuments. "We can start with those that are willing to cooperate. It is not useful to fight these people." 9The British Museum holds a large collection from across Africa. It is protected by a 1963 law preventing the museum from returning artifacts unless the objects are considered unfit or useless. Some African officials believe that law is increasingly weak as other nations have been more open to returning them. 10Abba Isa Tijani is director-general of Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments. He said Nigeria is pressuring Britain and other countries to change the laws permitting the return of disputed collections. But he expressed concern that while some countries are starting to open up, in Britain such efforts "have not even started." 11Many of the artifacts from Africa cannot even be found. That led to an organization started by late Congolese art collector Sindika Dokolo. It offers to buy stolen African art from collections in foreign countries. By 2020, when Dokolo died, his group had successfully recovered 15 items. 12However, recovery of artifacts remains a struggle for African governments. And the African Union has put the return of stolen cultural property up for discussion. The union aims to soon have a common policy on the issue. 13Zimbabwe has pushed for the return of about 3,000 artifacts from Britain. They include weapons as well as the skulls of fighters who fought against colonialism. Their heads were cut off and shipped away as war prizes. 14Talks between British and Zimbabwean officials have produced no big agreement. But the issue is so important for Zimbabwe that President Emmerson Mnangagwa last year suggested an exchange. Zimbabwe would return the remains of colonialist Cecil Rhodes, who is buried in the country. In return, Zimbabwe would receive the remains of the fighters. 15Rwanda recently made an agreement with its former colonial occupier, Belgium. The deal included the sharing of digital copies of over 4,000 songs and other recordings kept at the Royal Museum for Central Africa outside Brussels. 16But the location of the remains of one of Rwanda's last kings, Yuhi Musinga, is a serious issue in the East African country. Many Rwandans believe the body of Musinga, who resisted the Belgians and died in Congo, was sent to Belgium. 17Antoine Nyagahene is a professor of history at Rwanda's Gitwe University. He said there should be some justice in that case. 18"We were robbed of our cultural values and, as you know, a people without roots are a people without a soul," he said. 19I'm Dan Novak. 20Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by The Associated Press. 21_______________________________________________________________________ 22Words in This Story 23kingdom- n. a country whose ruler is a king or queen 24museum - n. a building in which interesting and valuable things are collected and shown to the public 25cockerel - n. a young male chicken 26monument - n. a building, statue, etc., that honors a person or event 27colonialism - n. control by one country over another area and its people 28root - n. the family history of a person or a group of people 29________________________________________________________________________ 30We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 31Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.