The decision has been reached: France will be returning the sacred Djidji Ayôkwé drum to Ivory Coast.
This outcome is the result of a vote in the French National Assembly on Monday afternoon, affirming a similar decision made by the French Senate back in April.
The newly enacted legislation permits the declassification and eventual transfer to Abidjan of a historical artifact, known as the "talking drum" because it was used to send warning messages between villages up to thirty kilometers apart.
Six years following Ivory Coast's request
The Djidji Ayôkwé drum, weighing 530 kilograms and measuring three meters in length, was removed from Ivory Coast by the French army during the colonial era in 1916.
Housed in several museums, the wooden drum was restored in 2022 after Ivory Coast requested its return three years prior.
Last November, the governments of both countries signed a deposit agreement that facilitated the restitution of the valuable instrument.
Critics have described France's legislative process for returning stolen objects, such as the drum, as generally slow. So far, only 27 historical artifacts taken during the colonial period have been returned to their countries of origin, including Benin and Senegal.
The only remaining step for the "talking drum" is its transfer to Ivory Coast.
Although the exact date of its return is still unknown, it is now certain that the drum's century-long unwanted exile will soon conclude.
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