Ivorian Culture Minister Françoise Remarck delivers a speech at a celebration of the 'talking drum' artifact's restitution, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, on March 13, 2026. ISSOUF SANOGO / AFP
An artifact named the Djidji Ayôkwé or "talking drum," the first piece France has officially given back to Côte d'Ivoire, finally landed in Abidjan. On the morning of Friday, March 13, French and Ivorian officials, along with traditional chiefs of the Atchan ethnic community, a people native to Abidjan from which the artifact was stolen 110 years ago, gathered on the esplanade of the presidential pavilion at Félix-Houphouët-Boigny airport to welcome a monumental crate, nearly 4 meters long, which contained the sacred object.
The Djidji Ayôkwé will stay in the crate for an acclimatization period and will only be removed in April. It will then be put on public display at the Museum of Civilisations in Abidjan, which has been renovated for the occasion.
"This is a historic day, a moment of justice and remembrance," said Ivorian Culture Minister Françoise Remarck, who hailed "exemplary cooperation between France and Côte d'Ivoire." The restitution of the Djidji Ayôkwé, a ritual communication instrument that was looted by French colonizers in 1916, comes as the culmination of a long process that started in 2018, when the Ivorian government requested that France give back the artifact.
