A special law was necessary: the Djidji Ayôkwé finally returns home to Côte d’Ivoire

France has officially returned the sacred Djidji drum to Ivory Coast. It is among 148 cultural belongings claimed by the Africab country in 2018. The text of the special law is included.

The Djidji Ayokwe drum is a communication tool more than three metres (10 feet) long and weighing 430 kilogrammes (almost 950 pounds) that was once used to transmit messages between different areas, for example to warn others of a forced recruitment drive.

The talking drum had been in the care of the Quai Branly-Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris.

Au centre, la ministre de la culture ivoirienne, Françoise Remarck, et son homologue française, Rachida Dati, après la cérémonie de signature dans le cadre de la restitution officielle à la Côte d’Ivoire du tambour baptisé « Djidji Ayôkwé », au Musée du quai Branly, à Paris, le 20 février 2026.

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