On Friday, August 8th, 2026, Ivory Coast celebrated the return of the Djidji Ayokwe, a sacred "talking drum" looted by French colonial troops in 1916. The drum, used by the Ebrie tribe to transmit messages, is more than three meters (10 feet) long and weighs 430 kilograms.

The ceremony coincided with Ivory Coast's national independence day and marked the first time contemporary Ivorians were able to see the drum. After arriving in March aboard a specially chartered plane, the drum had remained in its crate until the official handover in February.

The drum was carried in a military parade through the Yopougon district of Abidjan before continuing to Adjame, the village where it was originally made. Adjame mayor Farikou Soumahoro stated, "A nation cannot develop if it doesn't preserve its memory and promote its heritage."

Traditional leader Cyriaque Ahoure, 63, expressed his feelings about the event, saying he had come to share a moment of "great joy, when we remembering our ancestors."

The Djidji Ayokwe was seized by French colonial authorities in 1916, shipped to Europe in 1929, and exhibited in Paris for decades. Ivory Coast had formally requested its return in late 2018 as part of a broader effort to reclaim 148 works of art taken during the colonial period. This return is part of a larger movement supported by a new French law passed in May, which facilitates the restitution of hundreds of stolen artifacts to African countries.

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