Restitution of Yoruba Human Remains to Nigeria

Wɔatwerɛ nsɛm wei wɔ Asante Twi mu

Nnipa a wɔaka no rehwehwɛ sɛ wɔsan de nnipa nnompe ne nneɛma a wɔde yɛɛ nneɛma foforo a Afrika aman de maa wɔn a na wɔyɛ wɔn amammerɛ no ma wɔn a kan no na wɔhyɛ wɔn ase no. Eyi ama amanaman no anya adwene foforo wɔ mfe pii a atwam no mu. Saa nsrɛ yi mu baako ne sɛ, Nigeria hwehwɛ sɛ wɔsan de Yorubafo nnipa nnompe a wɔkyeree wɔn wɔ wɔn nnommumfa mu no ma wɔn, na seesei wɔde asie tete tete tete nneɛma akorae ne nwomasua sukuu ahorow wɔ United Kingdom ne Europa aman foforo so. Yoruba nananom nkae a wɔde bɛsan ama wɔn no yɛ amammerɛ ne honhom fam dwumadi bi a ɛrekɔ so wɔ baabiara a wɔde rehwehwɛ nnipa, nidi, ne abakɔsɛm mu atɛntrenee.

Abakɔsɛm a ɛfa Yorubafoɔ tete nnoɔma a wɔasɛe no ho

Wɔ afeha a ɛto so 19 ne afeha a ɛto so 20 mfiase mu no, Britain nniso no mu mpanyimfo, asɛmpatrɛfoɔ, ne nnipa ho animdefoɔ yii nnipa nnompe ne amammerɛ mu nneɛma fii Yoruba nsase a ɛnnɛ ɛwɔ Nigeria anafo fam atɔe kɛse no so. Mpɛn pii no, na wɔde nyansahu mu nhwehwɛmu, aduruyɛ mu nhwehwɛmu, anaa nnipa ho nhwehwɛmu^[1] na ɛyɛ saa nnoɔma yi. Wɔhwehwɛɛ tete nnoɔma bi a aka no wɔ asraafoɔ a wɔtow hyɛɛ wɔn so mu, te sɛ bere a Britainfoɔ de wɔn ani sii wɔn so wɔ afe 1897 mu no, ɛwom sɛ wɔfaa wɔn mu dodoɔ no ara fii Yorubafoɔ asase so denam nnipa a wɔtetee wɔn so.

Nnwumakuo te sɛ Pitt Rivers Museum wɔ Oxford ne Natural History Museum wɔ London no kura nkatabo ne nnompe a aka a efi Afrika, a Yorubafo ka ho. Mpɛn pii no, na woyiyi nkae yi fi wɔn amammerɛ mu na wɔde kɔto nneɛma a wɔaboaboa ano a na wɔhwɛ kwan sɛ wɔde bɛkɔ nnipa mu nyiyim ho nyansahu a seesei wɔagye ho akyinnye no anim.

Abrabɔ ne honhom fam nnoɔma a ho adwene

Wɔ Yoruba amammerɛ mu no, awufo ka ahonhom wiase no ho kɛse. Wogye di sɛ nananom a wɔawuwu, titiriw wɔn a wɔyɛ adefo anaa asɔfo, nya wɔn a wɔte ase no yiyedi so nkɛntɛnso. Sɛ obi wu na wosie no sɛnea ɛnsɛ a, wobu no sɛ ɛyɛ bɔne kɛse wɔ ahonhom wiase no ho. Eyi nti, Yorubafo nananom atenae a wɔda so kura wɔ atɔe fam aman mu no nyɛ amammerɛ mu kyɛfa nko ara na mmom ɛyɛ amansan nhyehyɛe ne nananom biakoyɛ a ɛrekɔ so no mu basabasa^[2].

Bio nso, saa nnompe yi a wɔda no adi anaa wɔkora so wɔ mmeae afoforo - a mpɛn pii no wɔn asefo anaa nnipa a wɔwɔ hɔ no gye ho tom - no yɛ nnɛɛmmafo basabasayɛ a ɛrekɔ so no bi.

Nigeriafoɔ a wɔpere sɛ wɔbɛsan akɔ wɔn kurom

Wɔ afeha a ɛto so 21 yi mu no, Nigeria nwomanimfoɔ, amammerɛ mu akannifo, ne aban mpanimfoɔ akɔ so afrɛ nkurɔfo sɛ wɔnsan nkɔ wɔn kurom. National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM), ne Yoruba amammerɛ mu ahyehyɛde te sɛ Ooni of Ife ne Alaafin of Oyo, rehwehwɛ sɛ wɔde amammerɛ mu nneɛma ne nnipa nnompe nyinaa bɛsan ama atɔeɛ aman ahyehyɛde.

Sarr-Savoy Report (2018) a wɔde abrabɔ ne mmara kwan so akyinnyegye ma Afrika agyapadeɛ a wɔtwaa mu wɔ nnommumfa mmere mu no ama saa nsɛmmisa yi mu ayɛ den. Nigeria aban no de saa amanneɛbɔ yi adi dwuma de rebɔ Benin Bronzes ho dawuru, na mmom sɛe a wonhu ne nnwinne a efi mmusua afoforo te sɛ Yoruba nso ho dawuru^[3].

Wɔ afe 2022 mu no, Nigeria ne UK sukuu ahodoɔ pii a Cambridge Suapɔn ne Oxford Suapɔn ka ho bi no firii aseɛ yɛɛ nhyehyɛeɛ sɛ wɔbɛhwehwɛ nnipa a wɔfiri Nigeria no na wɔasan de wɔn aba. Ɛwom sɛ mfitiaseɛ no, na saa nkɔmmɔ yi fa Benin tete nnoɔma ho de, nanso wɔakɔ so de abɔde a nkwa wom ho nneɛma a ɛwɔ ɔman no mu nyinaa ka ho^[4].

Mmuaeɛ a nnwumakuw ahodoɔ no de ma

Britain nnwumakuo bi afiri aseɛ rehu sɛ wɔn nneɛma a wɔboaboa ano no yɛ ɔhaw. Sɛ nhwɛso no, Pitt Rivers Museum ayɛ nnipa nnompe a wɔaboaboa ano no mu nhwehwɛmu, na wɔahyɛ bɔ sɛ wɔne wɔn a wɔaboaboa wɔn ano no bɛbom ayɛ nhyehyɛe ama wɔn a wɔaboaboa wɔn ano no de wɔn akɔ wɔn kurom wɔ ɔkwampa so^[5]^[6].

Nanso, nneɛma a wɔsan de ma no ankasa no kɔ so brɛ ntɛm. Mmara ahorow a ɛwɔ UK, te sɛ Human Tissue Act (2004), ma kwan ma wɔsan de nnipa nnompe ba wɔ tebea horow bi mu, nanso ɛnhyɛ ho mmara. Bio nso, dadwen wɔ hɔ sɛ ebia Nigeria wɔ nnwinnade a ɛdɔɔso a wɔde bɛhwɛ nnipa a wɔasan aba no, ɛwom sɛ Nigeria nnwuma kyerɛ sɛ ɛnsɛ sɛ eyi ma ɔbra pa a ɛsɛ sɛ wɔsan ba no yɛ ntɛm.

Mfasoɔ a wɔn a wɔresan aba wɔn man mu no ama Yorubafoɔ anya

Wɔ Yorubafo mu no, wɔn nananom a wɔawuwu a wɔsan bae no yɛ sɛnkyerɛnne kwan so ade a ɛma wɔn ho tɔ wɔn. Ná ɛbɛma wɔatumi ayɛ amanne ahorow a ɛfata, ne abusua a wofi mu no anya abusuabɔ bio, na wɔasan ama honhom fam abusuabɔ no akɔ so. Atetesɛm mu akannifo akyerɛ sɛ wɔmfa nkae a wɔasan de aba no nsie baabi te sɛ Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, UNESCO Wiase Agyapade, anaa wɔn nananom atrae a asɔfo a wɔwɔ hɔ no hwɛ so.

Bio nso, wɔhwɛ nneɛma a wɔsan de maa no no sɛ abakɔsɛm mu ntɛnkyea a wɔgye tom, na ɛyɛ ade a ɛbɛma wɔatwe tete nneɛma akorae ne nnipa ho adesua afiri hɔ^[7].

Awieeɛ

Yorubafoɔ adasamma nnompe a wɔde bɛsan akɔ Nigeria no yɛ honhom fam, abrabɔ fam, ne amammerɛ fam ade a ɛsɛ sɛ yɛyɛ ntɛm yɛ. Ɛma yehu sɛ na wɔhwehwɛ sɛ wɔn a wɔdi amammerɛ akyi no bu wɔn ho akontaa, na Afrikafo nso wɔ hokwan sɛ wɔn ankasa si wɔn agyapadeɛ so gyinae. Bere a nkɔmmɔbɔ no rekɔ so no, nkɔso a nnipakuw yi benya no begyina amanaman ntam ayɔnkofa, ahyehyɛde ahorow no animtew, ne Yorubafo akuw ne amammerɛ mu atumfoɔ a wɔde wɔn ho bɛhyɛ mu no so.

Mmeaeɛ a menyaa mmoa firiiɛ

↑ Muriel Verbeeck (2020), "Dan Hicks, The Brutish Museums. The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution", CeROArt, vol. 12, doi:10.4000/ceroart.8297, ISSN 1784-5092, retrieved 2025-07-04
↑ Jacob K. Olupona (1993-09), "The Study of Yoruba Religious Tradition in Historical Perspective", Numen, vol. 40, no. 3, p. 240, doi:10.2307/3270151, ISSN 0029-5973, retrieved 2025-07-04 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
↑ Mathilde Pavis, Andrea Wallace (2019), "Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report: Statement on Intellectual Property Rights and Open Access Relevant to the Digitization and Restitution of African Cultural Heritage and Associated Materials", SSRN Electronic Journal, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3378200, ISSN 1556-5068, retrieved 2025-07-04
↑ "8. Possibilities of Restitution of Rwandan Ancestors' Human Remains and Issues of Repatriation, Reparation and Memorialisation", Human Remains from the Former German Colony of East Africa, Köln: Böhlau Verlag, pp. 175–204, 2022-08-08, ISBN 978-3-412-52344-2, retrieved 2025-07-04
↑ "A History of Human Remains in Museum and Other Collections", Human Remains, Cambridge University Press, pp. 7–27, 2020-03-12, ISBN 978-1-316-16165-4, retrieved 2025-07-04
↑ Human Remains (in English), archived from the original on 2024-07-16, retrieved 2025-07-04
↑ Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Valentina Mariotti (2021-05), "The place of human remains in the frame of cultural heritage: the restitution of medieval skeletons from a Jewish cemetery", Journal of Cultural Heritage, vol. 49, pp. 229–238, doi:10.1016/j.culher.2021.04.002, ISSN 1296-2074, retrieved 2025-07-04 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[1] Muriel Verbeeck (2020), "Dan Hicks, The Brutish Museums. The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution", CeROArt, vol. 12, doi:10.4000/ceroart.8297, ISSN 1784-5092, retrieved 2025-07-04

[2] Jacob K. Olupona (1993-09), "The Study of Yoruba Religious Tradition in Historical Perspective", Numen, vol. 40, no. 3, p. 240, doi:10.2307/3270151, ISSN 0029-5973, retrieved 2025-07-04 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

[3] Mathilde Pavis, Andrea Wallace (2019), "Response to the 2018 Sarr-Savoy Report: Statement on Intellectual Property Rights and Open Access Relevant to the Digitization and Restitution of African Cultural Heritage and Associated Materials", SSRN Electronic Journal, doi:10.2139/ssrn.3378200, ISSN 1556-5068, retrieved 2025-07-04

[4] "8. Possibilities of Restitution of Rwandan Ancestors' Human Remains and Issues of Repatriation, Reparation and Memorialisation", Human Remains from the Former German Colony of East Africa, Köln: Böhlau Verlag, pp. 175–204, 2022-08-08, ISBN 978-3-412-52344-2, retrieved 2025-07-04

[5] "A History of Human Remains in Museum and Other Collections", Human Remains, Cambridge University Press, pp. 7–27, 2020-03-12, ISBN 978-1-316-16165-4, retrieved 2025-07-04

[6] Human Remains (in English), archived from the original on 2024-07-16, retrieved 2025-07-04

[7] Maria Giovanna Belcastro, Valentina Mariotti (2021-05), "The place of human remains in the frame of cultural heritage: the restitution of medieval skeletons from a Jewish cemetery", Journal of Cultural Heritage, vol. 49, pp. 229–238, doi:10.1016/j.culher.2021.04.002, ISSN 1296-2074, retrieved 2025-07-04 {{citation}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

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