"Don't be afraid, it's your heritage": the Beninese facing the treasures of Dahomey

The treasures of Benin's history are showcased in three rooms with huge walls painted black, with a solemn character.

Emotion and above all pride can be read on the faces of the people of Benin discovering the half-man, half-lion statue of King Glèlè, the doors of the royal palace of Dahomey or even the ceremonial throne of King Ghézo, a majestic wooden sculpture of almost two meters.

Looted in 1892 by French colonial troops, the 26 objects, some of which are sacred, were returned to Benin in November, after more than two years of negotiations between Paris and Cotonou.

Now exhibited in Cotonou, these works are finally reacquainted with the public.

Read alsoNigeria: two bronzes looted during the colonial era returned to the Oba of Benin

Dozens of students and couples who have come with their children stand respectfully in an arc facing the throne, before one of the exhibition mediators urges them to approach.

," he tells them.

It does not take more for visitors to appropriate it.

Some almost stick their faces to the window to scrutinize its incredible Afro-Brazilian patterns carved into the wood.

Others challenge each other to come and stand on this or that side and admire it from all angles.

Everyone takes their picture with him.

The ceremonial throne of King Ghézo, on display at the presidential palace in Cotonou, Benin.

PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP

“It is an immense pride, it is our greatness which was taken away from us and which we find today”

, cowardly, very moved, Abdou Malehossou, come to discover for the first time, these treasures of the kingdom of Dahomey exposed to from Sunday at the presidential palace in Cotonou.

For

, this 32-year-old Beninese came with his two-year-old daughter, to see and

, the one before colonization, he says.

To show this royal treasure to the people of Benin, a museum space of more than 2,000 m2 has been set up to house until May 22 the exhibition entitled

.

They will eventually join the future historical museum of Ouidah, under construction in the south of Benin.

Read alsoParthenon: Italy does not say no to the return of a fragment of the frieze

Find his story

In the meantime, the many mediators are taken by storm on the first day of the exhibition.

The questions flow.

,

,

, all want to know more about these works, as well as their history in the broad sense.

Cosme Houegbe Lo Béhanzin, the king's great-grandson, told AFP. Béhanzin, whose half-man half-shark statue is also on display.

, says this member of the royal court, who has tied around his waist a traditional yellow Kanvo fabric, on which is embroidered a blue shark.

"

, adds the dignitary.

To return such and such a work of art to the country that produced it (...) is to allow a people to recover part of its memory and its identity.

Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, then director general of Unesco, in 1978

In addition to the royal treasure, Beninese are invited to discover, in a second part of the exhibition, 34 contemporary Beninese artists.

A government choice, supposed to join

and show that the

, despite the dispossession of part of its heritage.

From the monumental tapestries by Yves Apollinaire Pèdé honoring voodoo, to the installation made from hair by Dimitri Fagbohoun, passing by the Afro-futurist robots of Emo de Medeiros, the hundred works exhibited illustrate the artistic vitality of the Beninese contemporary scene.

To read also Stations of the Cross for the restitution of Mesoamerican heritage

The more modern programming fascinates just as much as the ancient gems of Abomey.

Tireria Kalilou, a 32-year-old medical student, can't take her eyes off a photograph of Beninese Laeila Adjovi.

A woman looks up to the sky;

the multicolored wings of a messenger bird, whose particularity is to fly with its head turned backwards, unfold behind it.

says this Malian, who arrived at the age of five in Cotonou, and who feels Beninese.

he underlines.

At the exit, we understand better why at the entrance to the exhibition, the visitors had stopped for a long time, thoughtful, in front of a quote inscribed on a wall.

.

This appeal launched in June 1978 by Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, then Director General of Unesco, is widely echoed.

It is not just material works that have been taken away from the Beninese, but a part of themselves.

This inscription is also a poignant reminder that demands for the restitution of works by formerly colonized countries are not new.

But let these only begin to be listened to.