[Indistinct chatter]
[Footsteps approach]
[Traffic hums]
[Delicate, instrumental music]
[Indistinct laughter
and chatter]
[Boat engine rumbles]
[Waves crash]
[Traffic hums in distance]
[Silence]
[Vehicle engine rumbles
in background]
[Low, electric buzzing]
[Buzzing volume increases]
[Deep reverberating voice,
in Fon]
As far back as I can go
there has never been a night
so deep and opaque.
Here, it is
the only possible reality.
[Eerie howling]
[Voice continues]
The beginning
and the end.
I journeyed so long
in my mind
but it was so dark
in this foreign place
that I lost myself
in my dreams,
becoming one
with these walls.
Cut off
from the land of my birth
as if I were dead.
There are thousands of us
in this night.
We all bear the same scars.
Uprooted. Ripped out.
The spoils
of massive plundering.
Today, it's me
they have chosen
like their finest
and most legitimate victim!
They have named me 26.
Not 24.
Not 25.
Not 30.
Just 26.
[Eerie atmosphere subsides]
[They talk in French,
indistinctly]
[Clattering and clanking]
[Clattering and clanking]
[They continue talking,
indistinctly]
[Drilling and clattering]
[Metal clanks]
[Indistinct,
muffled voices in background]
[Metal clanks and thuds]
[Indistinct voices
in background]
[They continue talking,
indistinctly]
[Tools thud]
[They continue talking,
indistinctly]
[Wheels roll]
[Chains rattle]
[Object handler talks,
indistinctly]
[Indistinct talking continues]
[Camera clicks]
[They talk, indistinctly]
[Indistinct, muffled voices]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Indistinct, muffled voices]
[Wheels roll]
[Thud]
[Treasure voice, in Fon] 26.
Why didn't they call me
by my real name?
Don't they know it?
"You can leave now!
"26, go back home!"
Return to
the surface of time...
leave behind my brothers,
prone, ignored
deep in the unnamable.
[Ethereal,
chiming music and chanting]
[Voice continues]
Go back home?
What awaits me elsewhere?
[Music fades;
Vehicle beeps]
[Engine hums]
[Freight elevator whirs]
[Door squeaks and shuts]
[Hum]
[Click, silence]
[Wheels whir, jet engine hums]
[Engine hum intensifies]
[Hum decreases]
[Treasure voice] Leave
the kingdom of the night
to enter another.
My head is still assailed
by the rattle of chains.
I have in my mouth
an aftertaste of the ocean.
In several languages,
these memories
whisper in my ear
the full weight of a past
of which I am
the trance, the trace.
I'm torn
between the fear
of not being recognized
by anyone
and not recognizing anything.
[Hum]
[Rhythmic puffing, clanking]
[Printer whirs]
[Whirring intensifies]
[Indistinct voices
in background]
[He talks, indistinctly]
HISTORIC!
[Ethereal chanting
and chiming music]
[Engine rumbles]
[Siren beeps]
[Thud]
[Clicking]
RESTITUTION OF
ROYAL TREASURES OF BENIN
[Siren blares]
[Bells and percussion play]
[Traffic rumbles]
[Chiming music
and chanting fade]
[Car horn honks]
[People cheer]
[They sing]
[Car horn honks]
[They cheer]
[Percussion and singing]
PALAIS DE LA MARINA
PRESIDENCY OF
THE REPUBLIC OF BENIN
[Percussion and
singing continue,
in distance]
[Crickets chirp]
[Engine rumbles, slowly]
[Loud bang]
[They talk, indistinctly]
[Loud bang]
[Loud bang]
[Loud bang]
[Loud bang]
[Vehicle whirs]
[Vehicle beeps]
[Man, in French] Ladies
and gentlemen...
Mr. President
of the Republic of Benin...
[Camera clicks]
Your highnesses...
[Camera clicks]
Dear guests...
[Low hum]
[Crickets chirp]
[Metal clanks]
[Atmospheric, synth music]
[Treasure voice, in Fon]
Is this the end
of the journey?
[Music continues;
Crickets chirp]
[Voice continues] Everything
is so strange.
Far removed from the country
I saw in my dreams.
My head is spinning.
I give myself up
to this tropical caress
to the smell of childhood,
a road to myself.
[Music transitions to a calm,
orchestral symphony]
[Leaves rustle]
[Music and rustling intensify]
[Voice continues] I did not
expect to see daylight again.
[Music fades]
[Muffled, indistinct chatter]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Drilling]
[Curator, in French] Statue
of King Ghezo.
Designation:
anthropo-zoomorphic
royal statue.
Medium:
painted wood,
metal,
fibers.
Weight:
220 kilos.
Condition:
average condition overall.
The pictorial layer
presents gaps.
The sculpture is
stable despite cracks.
The metal is stable,
although oxidized
and deformed.
[They talk, indistinctly]
[Curator, continues]
Description:
this statue is
a representation of a Bo ,
a power-figure of King Ghezo.
The iron blades
covering the body
of the statue
allude to metals,
the symbol of the Vodun G ,
the Vodun of iron
and, by extension, of w*r.
[Indistinct chatter]
[They talk, indistinctly]
[Drilling in distance]
[Tractor roars]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Men talk, indistinctly]
[Thud]
[Chiming]
[Curator] Condition:
good structural condition
despite cracks
and missing parts.
[Man talks, indistinctly]
[Curator continues]
Description:
this throne was taken
from Cana, less than 20
kilometers from Abomey.
The arrangement
of the sculpted characters
shows
that this work
has Yoruba origins,
and was made for the king.
The upper part of the throne
depicts the king
under his sunshade,
surrounded by
his maidservants.
[Men talk, indistinctly]
[Curator continues]
On the level below,
a line of shackled sl*ves
alludes to
two major characteristics
of the kingdom.
Its expansionist policies
and the enslavement
of the population
in conquered regions.
[Muffled chatter
and clattering]
[Whirring and clattering
in background]
[They talk, indistinctly]
[Curator] Statue
of King Glele.
Condition:
average condition overall.
Peeling and defects
in certain areas,
particularly on the head.
Keep under observation.
An asen , or sinuka,
its real name in Fongbe,
was intended to perpetuate
the memory of the dead.
Every deceased person
is entitled to a sinuka .
It symbolizes
an accomplished life on earth
and integration
into the world
of the ancestors.
[Curator] Not by the fin.
Not the head.
Don't let go. Hold it.
Paul, hold it.
Stay on this side to hold it.
[Curator continues] Statue
of King Bhanzin.
Description:
this statue depicts Bhanzin,
King of Dahomey
from 1890 to 1894.
Bhanzin's coat of arms
featured a shark
in memory of the words
he uttered,
announcing to his people
his intention to wage w*r
on the French...
[Curator talks in Fon]
[He continues, in French]
"The shark has been angered
and the ocean
has been clouded."
[He murmurs a song,
indistinctly]
[Muffled laughter]
[Distant chiming]
[Glass chimes]
[Inaudible]
[Upbeat electronic music
and percussion]
[Indistinct chatter]
[Speaker talks in background]
[Inaudible]
[Inaudible]
[Music fades]
[Speaker] We have centuries
ahead of us.
If our conservation efforts
so far
failed to reassure you
in the long term,
we will do what it takes.
What you have seen
demonstrates our commitment
and determination
to do things properly,
abiding by all standards.
We shall work
for the best conservation
of what stayed here,
what has returned
and what will return.
[Museum guide] There's an asen
here that is intriguing.
For researchers
and traditionalists alike,
it continues to be
a subject of debate.
How was it possible for Dodds
to carry off the asen
of King Bhanzin?
King Bhanzin was still alive
when Dodds entered
the royal palaces.
A King must not see his asen .
A living being
may not see their asen .
Our researchers
may be on the right track
when they say
that the court soothsayer,
the soothsayer Gudgu,
had questioned the oracles
and informed the King
that he would lose the w*r.
The response
was always the same.
"Your Majesty,
fight like a worthy son
of Dahomey,
but you will lose this w*r."
[Muffled chatter]
Did you know thousands
of Beninese artifacts
were held overseas?
If so, at what point
in your life,
did you find out?
To answer your question,
I'd say,
during my childhood,
I grew up with Disney,
I grew up watching Avatar ,
I grew up watching
Tom & Jerry ,
but I didn't grow up watching
an animated movie
that focused on Bhanzin,
that focused
on our cultural heritage.
During my childhood therefore,
I was never made aware
that artifacts belonging to us
had been deported and...
would return who knows when.
So I grew up
completely ignorant
that my heritage,
my culture, my education,
my life and soul
had been kept
overseas for centuries.
You understand?
I'd been told in high school
but partially,
because our teachers
used to say
in social science classes,
"A lot of things
were stolen from us."
By "a lot of things",
I got it into my head
these were "things."
[She laughs] I didn't know
they were treasures,
only that they were things.
[Man 2] To answer
the first question,
I didn't know.
In primary school,
it was the history
of victors and vanquished.
That's what we got.
But when I heard
about the return
of this stuff...
I call them "stuff"
because so far it...
I feel nothing
with regard to...
these statuettes.
I call them that
since I feel nothing.
[Man 1] 90%
of Beninese heritage...
[Man 3] Hmm...
Careful with your statistics.
[Man 1] I reiterate, 90%!
I weigh my words. 90%.
- [Man 3] All our heritage,
meaning?
- Our heritage.
- [Man 3] Only 10% is here?
- Exactly.
[Man 4] When you say
that 90%
of our cultural heritage...
[Inaudible]
[Man 4 continues]
...is overseas,
I don't think you're right.
Cultural heritage
is composed of material
and immaterial heritage.
Now,
part of our material heritage
is in other countries.
But our immaterial heritage,
our dances, traditions
and know-how
are still in our country!
[People applaud and cheer]
[Inaudible]
To go see these 26 works
is a patriotic act. Why?
For me, it's about more
than pride.
I remember last Sunday,
when I went to the Palais
to see the 26 works,
I cried for fifteen minutes.
I was like, wow!
[Man] Wow...
I...
[People murmur]
[Woman, raising voice] I cried
so much that...
I was taught...
In school,
the king's throne...
[Man] We all have
our own sensibility.
[Woman continues] I cried
because I said to myself,
Wow, look
how our ancestors...
The ingenuity
of our ancestors,
especially for
the throne of King Ghezo.
If you go see the paintings
and sculptures of Benin,
it's not for amusement.
But I also agree
with the fellow
who said it's an insult.
Out of 7,000 works,
they bring back 26.
And what hurts me the most
is the god G , god of iron,
whom we asked for
but we were told to wait.
[Curator] A historic day.
Experiencing this moment
is very moving.
Special and...
It's a moment
of great emotion
and joy.
And it's a response...
sent out to those
who were skeptical
when the issue of restitution
was first raised.
Some people,
including some Beninese,
claimed that
Benin did not
possess the means,
either financially,
materially or
in human resources,
to look after these works.
[Interviewer] The works
are here now,
so what role
can you still play
in the whole process?
Well, the role I have to play
is to pass the torch
because I am
already advanced in age
and there has to be
a younger generation
in whom we place our trust.
That generation
is already there
to take up the torch.
That would be
my ultimate satisfaction.
[Woman 3] I don't think
it's in any way historic.
It's a purely
political event.
We all know that
an ancestor of our president,
Patrice Talon,
was one of the interpreters
who facilitated the plunder.
And now he's back
to bring them home to us
but just a tiny fraction.
That shows
the complexity of things
and that they just want
to increase their popularity
with us,
the general population.
- [Woman 4 talks,
indistinctly]
- Because if we need to...
[People applaud]
If we need to act more
in terms of
teaching our culture,
meaning our history,
I don't think
this is where we should begin.
The aim is not to make
people in Benin happy.
The aim is, in fact,
to gratify France
by showing
a positive image of France,
which is losing ground.
France is losing
its power in Africa.
Macron didn't do this
because we asked.
He did it to boost his brand.
[Man 5] Political or not,
it's a historic event
that will allow...
historians and artists
to reappropriate the history,
to be able to work on it
and to be able
to produce works
and produce documentation
based on restituted works.
[Man 6] I agree with the idea
that it's a historic act.
Posters everywhere,
all about this,
like there are no more
empty bellies
in this country,
It's all about this,
and that's fine. It's fine.
But don't...
Let's be aware
that this is a savage insult.
[People murmur]
[Man 6 continues]
Restituting 26 works
out of 7,000 is an insult.
- [Inaudible]
- [Scattered applause]
[Man 7] Go ahead.
[Woman 5] Hello, everybody.
My name's Diane.
I'm a filmmaker.
I listened with great interest
to what everybody had to say,
and this talk of insults
disgusts me, in fact.
Because you're denigrating
the work of President Talon.
First you say
that he's courageous, and
he's done a lot of hard work.
Then you talk about insults.
You have artifacts
coming back home
after so many years.
I'll say this in Fon...
[She speaks in Fon]
[She continues in French]
In fact...
it's because these 26
works are back here already
that you can run
your mouths off...
- [People cheer and applaud]
- ...saying it's an insult.
If they hadn't given
anything...
[She speaks in Fon]
[She continues in French]
Start by accepting
the little you have,
then develop a technique
to get the others back!
[People applaud]
Look at how we think...
They take from us
more than 7,000 pieces
and they restitute 26.
- We consider it's a start.
- [Man 8] And we're happy.
So in 100 years, I guess...
It's been over 100 years,
right?
- In 100 years,
they'll restitute two...
- [Man 8] Another two.
We won't be here then!
Right?
In 200 years, maybe four more.
We won't be here.
Where's this going?
[He continues, over speaker]
The simple fact of
having to ask is the problem.
They came and
tore that from us!
And they conditioned us
never to think
we can tear it back
by any means but diplomacy,
behind-the-scenes deals.
And you have no idea
what's been signed away.
So to me...
we are still stuck
in the pattern mapped out by
the colonizers,
claiming that
things have evolved...
No! We need a revolution!
We need mobilization
in Africa,
widespread mobilization
so everything
is given back to us.
And for us to be able
to protect it,
so we can tell our history
to our children!
Thank you.
[Inaudible]
The return of these works,
of these treasures,
is not perceptibly
the doing of Patrice Talon.
Be aware, it's the...
potentially silent wish...
It's the materialization...
of bygone revolts.
It's the accomplishment
of Bio Gura,
Bhanzin and the Amazons.
It's all of those energies
coming together today
in the accomplishment
of a step in the march
of our people
toward its own identity.
If I have to state
the intention around all that,
I'd say, at first sight,
it's the intention
for self-determination.
The intention
for self-determination
of a whole people.
I'd rather not heap
that on Patrice Talon.
It's too much to ask of him...
[Treasure voice, in Fon]
Where I am
is where I must be?
I wonder...
in the conviction
that it will change nothing
in the
present-under-construction
that is history.
[Inaudible]
I feel attracted
by something
from ancient times,
[Birds chirp;
People talk in distance]
[Treasure voice continues]
...a sort of invitation.
Perhaps a new beginning.
[Indistinct muffled chatter]
[Museum visitor, in English]
I happen to be Haitian.
My great-grandmother
spoke to me
of some of the kings here.
Specifically of Ghezo
and Bhanzin.
She spoke to me of these men,
of these kings
when I was 3 years old.
I held on to these names
so that I wouldn't forget.
And to be here today
witnessing this presence
of these works of art...
There are some interesting
metaphysical experience that
it's actually taking places
parallel between
the restitution
of these works of art
and our needs,
our demands for reparations
and our movement.
This movement
of African descendants
who are coming back
to the African continent.
So the objects
are coming home
little by little,
and so are the people.
None of us will be free
spiritually, politically,
emotionally,
until these works
have been liberated
themselves,
until they are returned
to their proper place
of origin.
That's what so important
about these works.
They give us strength,
they give us power.
And they provide us
with absolute clarity
about who we are
and what our...
our contribution
to world patrimony is about.
So...
Come out! Enjoy!
Go to your local museums!
And learn about yourself.
Learn about ourselves,
learn about history.
Strengthen yourself.
Love yourself in that way.
[Woman 5, in French] Hello,
everybody.
I'm Ouemeho, Rose.
I've listened carefully
to all that's been said
from the start.
First of all,
I'd like to emphasize
the fact that
all you Beninese...
[Man from crowd] All of us,
Beninese?
- Okay, all of us...
- [People murmur]
...Beninese,
who are here today,
we don't realize that...
the colonizers
made us sl*ves of ourselves.
To begin with...
Even our languages.
We can't...
I can't talk
in my own language,
for example,
and say all I can say.
All I want to say.
I can't say it.
Because they made us sl*ves
of our own language,
to begin with. The colonizers!
Normally, Fon, Nago
and the other languages
should be part of
our education system.
Even our own culture
is not learned
in our own language.
We learned it in French.
I'm speaking French
but I'm not French.
I'm from Abomey.
[Man 9] The education system
did not fail to mention
the treasures
but it did not mention them
by name.
We were told our parents
were stolen from us,
our able-bodied men
went away...
And they sidetracked us
by putting in
the system of education
facts that don't engage us
in any way!
And curiously,
that sucked out
our capacity for excellence.
In other words...
[People applaud]
In other words...
when you are able
to quote Aristotle,
to quote Plato,
to quote whatever...
you're a genius.
I always had issues
with my teachers,
for whom an inability
to quote those people
invalidated
my essays' arguments,
and that's unacceptable!
[Man 10 talks indistinctly]
[Man 11] It's totally biased!
Nelson Mandela said education
is the most powerful weapon
to save the world.
Taking it from there...
We have
these 26 artifacts now.
The Palais de la Marina
is open for people
to view them.
But for children in schools
and high schools today,
what funding has been put
in place
to allow them to visit?
- [People applaud]
- Children who happen to be...
in a remote village,
for example,
how will they come visit?
What system is there
for them to come and visit?
So that they're given
the facts,
and by themselves,
with their imagination,
they can create their history,
reconnect with their culture.
For so long, we were told
we descended from sl*ves.
But I descend
from Amazons and I'm proud!
[Man 12] Do policies
with regard to education,
with regard to promoting
the development
of a culture
of visiting "museums"...
Do we have that in Benin?
No.
[He continues, over speaker]
We must not dissociate
the social aspect
from the economic aspect.
How many people in Benin
are assured
of three meals a day?
If we want people in Benin,
from now on,
to develop the habit
of visiting museums,
it's good for the economy,
sure, but we have to boost
workers' purchasing power,
so that the working
and middle classes
can afford it,
so that the lady selling
tal-tal outside
can educate herself first
to pass it on
to the little boy
she's raising at home,
so he gets into the habit
of visiting museums.
The fact that you focus
the issue on the word "museum"
is a mistake.
Museums, Museums...
Museums are
a Western institution.
I'm Beninese.
These works
were initially intended
for rituals of worship.
We had our way
of keeping things
and conceiving things
that we have forgotten.
[Woman 6] Mr. Gael, please,
President Talon was right
to exhibit them here.
If we took them back
to Abomey,
the sacred aspect
would automatically
be highlighted.
Drastically!
- [Men talk, indistinctly]
- Drastically...
Personally,
I wouldn't go near them.
automatically I'd be scared!
It's to desacralize them.
They're works of art!
[People talk, indistinctly]
It's art. Nothing but art!
[Gael] We live in
a country where
we're all 100% hypocrites.
Here's why.
The young lady says
that if she sees
the sacred aspect,
it will scare her.
But we all know
that after church,
95% of people practice Vodun.
Let's stop deluding ourselves.
[People talk, indistinctly]
Let's not delude ourselves.
Why are we
so scared of Vodun now?
Where's this fear from?
[Man 9] What was looted
more than a century ago
is our soul.
The people's soul.
It's our ability to be proud,
to identify with
our own essence
that was looted.
The life was taken out
of these works.
Let's give back
the life that was taken.
[Harmonious,
instrumental music]
[Guide talks, indistinctly]
[Chanting joins]
[Music and chanting fade]
[Music and chanting resume]
[Music and chanting conclude]
[Light switch click echoes]
[Light switch click echoes]
[Light switch click echoes]
[Treasure voice, in Fon]
Night again.
[Ocean murmurs;
Crickets chirp]
[Voice continues] Atlantic,
shores of the wound.
May the light engulf you.
I walk.
[Atmospheric chanting]
[Calm,
instrumental music joins]
[Voice continues] I will
no longer stop
at each junction,
where my humanity
will be challenged.
I'll no longer mull over
my incarceration
in the caverns
of the civilized world.
I won't ever stop.
I never left.
I am here.
[Music continues;
Cricket chirp]
[Voice continues]
I don't forget.
[Indistinct chatter]
[Voice continues]
There is nothing to repair.
There are the dreams
of the continent,
the path calling us
to the very end.
[Club music plays
over bar speakers]
[Calm,
instrumental music continues]
[Voice continues]
I am the face
of the metamorphosis.
[Inaudible]
[Voice continue] I see myself
so clearly through you.
26 does not exist.
Within me resonates infinity.
I walk.
I won't ever stop.
[Indistinct chatter
in distance]
[Music fades]
[Crickets chirp]
[Leaves rustle
under footsteps]
[Birds sing]
[Rooster crows]
[Music plays in distance]
[All sounds fade]
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Dahomey (2024)
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