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 was paraded through the Yopougon district of Abidjan during a military procession before continuing to its home village of Adjame, where it was originally made.

The imposing wooden drum, over three meters (10 feet) long and weighing 430 kilograms, was historically used by the Ebrie tribe to transmit messages. It was seized by French colonial authorities in 1916, shipped to Europe in 1929, and exhibited in Paris for decades.

Ivory Coast had formally requested the return of the Djidji Ayokwe in late 2018 as part of a broader effort to reclaim 148 works of art taken during the colonial period. The drum was officially handed over in February 2026 and arrived in Ivory Coast in March aboard a specially chartered plane, though it remained in its crate until the recent ceremony.

Adjame mayor Farikou Soumahoro remarked, "A nation cannot develop if it doesn't preserve its memory and promote its heritage." Traditional leader Cyriaque Ahoure, 63, expressed his emotions, saying he had come to share a moment of "great joy, when we remembering our ancestors."

This return is part of a larger movement supported by a new French law passed in May 2026, which facilitates the restitution of hundreds of stolen artifacts to African countries.

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