The clamour to return artefacts taken by colonialists

Former colonies want their cultural treasures back

Mar 28th 2019|BAMAKO, DAKAR AND KINSHASA

IN THE NEW Museum of Black Civilisations in Dakar, two vitrines display a French-made sword, a Koran and a pair of scruffy leather sandals. They were taken from Hadj Omar Tall, a Sufi military commander who briefly formed an empire that stretched across Guinea, Mali and Senegal. Hadj Omar gained a heroic reputation fighting the French in west Africa until he was killed in 1864. His personal effects were seized as war booty and eventually bequeathed to various French museums. They have been returned, temporarily, for the Dakar museum’s opening. “It’s the third time they’ve lent us what is ours,” sniffs the director, Hamady Bocoum.

This article appeared in the International section of the print edition under the headline “Reflecting on past sins”