Germany ready to return expropriated African cultural objects, expert claims knowledge gaps

Ghanaian Archaeologist, Ethnographer and researcher, Professor Kodzo Gavua, has expressed the view that the expropriated cultural artefacts from African countries by the European colonial countries, has created a knowledge gap in the African continent.

The knowledge gap, which he explained exists between the past and the present generation, has “affected our predicament and development in many areas of life as a people.” 

He has, therefore, stressed the need to enhance restitution and reparation processes to ensure that such expropriated cultural artefacts from Africa, which are now in custody in many museums in Europe and Americas, are returned to their root.

Prof. Gavua, who is with the Department of Archaeology and Heritage Studies, University of Ghana, made the remarks during a one-day conference organised by the Merian Institute for Advanced Studies in Africa (MIASA) in collaboration with the University of Ghana in Accra on Thursday, June 22, 2023.

The conference, which was held at the Auditorium of the Centre for Biodiversity Conservation Research, University of Ghana, was on the theme: “Restitution, museums, and cultural policies in West Africa.”

The overall objective of the conference was to establish a dialogue between academic experts and experts in museums as well as to establish a dialogue between African experts and European experts on the issues of restitution and reparation of cultural objects.

MIASA

MIASA is an Institute under the College of Humanities at the University of Ghana and is jointly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the University of Ghana.

MIASA serves as a hub for exchange, networking, and collaboration among leading researchers from Germany, Ghana, and other scholars from around the globe.

Expropriated objects 

Prof. Gavua said restitution “goes beyond just the return of expropriated cultural objects” and that there was the need to find a cultural balance within which the returned objects could be put to use to help contribute to Africa’s knowledge generation.

He explained that the objects were part of the daily lives of the country’s forebears and embodied aspect of the country’s philosophy, view, beliefs and practices. 

Additionally, he noted, some of the objects were basis for producing knowledge about Africans and that Africans were denied the opportunity to learn from the objects.

For Prof.Gavua, restitution and reparation would re-assert the identity of the people and inspire the youth, saying “Restitution and reparation would help in repairing the damage that the actions of the colonial masters caused.”

He charged the country’s leadership to lead the process in getting the expropriated cultural objects returned, explaining that even though the objects belonged specific communities, pushing the agenda to get the objects returned, must be led by the state.

Prof. Gavua also called on museums in West Africa to partner museums in other parts of the world so that they could share knowledges and experiences, expressing the concern that most museums in West Africa work in silos, a situation he said, was not the best in terms of museums management.

Germany ready to return cultural objects

Speaking at the conference, the German Ambassador to Ghana, Mr. Daniel Krull, pledged the readiness of the Germane Government to facilitate the return of expropriated cultural artefacts from Ghana and other African countries.

For him, the German government was ready and was only waiting for the Ghanaian government to make the request.

He, however, called for more research to elicit data that would help determine the right origins of the expropriated African cultural artefacts in order to aid their return.

“There should be research to ensure that artifacts are coming back to where they originated,” he said, adding that the debate on the issues of restitution and reparation should move beyond the boundaries of academia to the larger society. 

In a presentation, Prof. Peter Hahn said “restitution is driven by the objects and their histories” and that restitution is accepted by almost everyone in the realm of museums. 

For him, restitution would contribute to a better future of the collaboration between countries in the North and South.
“Restitution is not only related to remediating the evil of the past. It is intended rather as a joint action for the future,” he said. 

Growing debate on restitution 

In a speech read on behalf, the Provost of College of Humanities, Prof. Daniel Ofori, commended MIASA for holding the conference on the subject, noting that the issue of restitution and reparation had become topical in the College in recent times.

That, he noted, the conference was appropriate and timely, considering the fact that restitution of cultural expropriated artefacts ought to be tackled from different perspectives.

He noted that to get the expropriated objects returned to their home countries, there was the need to use both diplomatic and militant languages in making those demands by countries where the items were taken from.

Prof. Ofori expressed the hope that MIASA would play a key role to facilitate the return of the expropriated African cultural objects.