The story of Ngonnso was reborn not as a relic trapped behind glass in a European museum, but as a living memory stirring through words, research, and art. The occasion was “Restitution 101: A History of Theft,” a public lecture and film premiere convened by Shey Dr Bulami Edward, researcher and cultural advocate, as part of the Open Restitution Africa initiative.
The event, which drew academics, students, journalists and cultural enthusiasts, sought to deepen understanding of the restitution of African heritage. Yet, at its heart, it carried a single, powerful story that of Ngonnso, the founding mother of the Nso Kingdom, whose sacred statue has spent more than a century in Berlin.
Long before colonial borders carved the African continent, Ngonnso was the daughter of a Tikar ruler. When rivalry broke out among her brothers, she chose peace over power, leading a band of followers northward to the rolling hills of what is today Kumbo. There she founded the Nso Kingdom, teaching her people to farm, build, and live in harmony with the land and their ancestors.
To her followers, she became Ma Ngonnso, the mother of all Nso. Her carved wooden statue, holding a bowl of blessings, became a spiritual vessel connecting generations.
“The bond between the living and the ancestors was broken when she was taken,” Dr Bulami explained, as he presented findings from his research on the Ngonnso case for Open Restitution Africa.
In 1902, German colonial troops led by Captain Curt von Pavel invaded Nso territory. They burned villages and subdued resistance, and among the items seized was Ngonnso’s sacred statue. To the Nso people, it was not merely an object, but the embodiment of their ancestral mother an unbroken link between the physical and spiritual worlds.
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The Germans shipped her to Berlin, where she has remained for over a century. Today, she is displayed at the Humboldt Forum under a foreign description: a palm wine vessel.
Dr Bulami’s presentation laid bare the emotional and historical cost of this act. He reminded his audience that restitution is not about charity or apology, it is about justice and the right of communities to reconnect with what defines them.
At the epicentre of this renewed call is Sylvie Njobati, an activist who, in 2021, travelled to Berlin with letters from the Fon of Nso demanding Ngonnso’s return. Her #BringBackNgonnso campaign captured global attention, echoing the words of Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who condemned the exhibition of looted African artefacts at the museum’s opening.
Following sustained pressure, the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in 2022 agreed to return Ngonnso one of the rare acknowledgements by Germany of an artefact’s sacred importance. Yet, more than two years later, her return remains pending.
HRM Fon Sehm Mbinglo I. is livingin the Cameroon capital of Yaoundé. Photo credits:
Daniel Beloumou Olomo / DER SPIEGELDebates continue about where she should be kept either in the Nso Palace in Kumbo, where she belongs, or at the National Museum in Yaoundé for safety. The Sultan of Bamum has even offered temporary custody in Foumban. But across these discussions, one sentiment remains constant: the Nso people want their mother home.
At the Restitution 101 event, the story of Ngonnso was not told only through research, but through art. Mbungai Marie Josette Leinyuy, a 20-year-old spoken word artist and student at the University of Bamenda, electrified the audience with her poem “Return What You Took.”
“They say they saved our heritage but from whom?” she performed. “Return not just the bronze and beads and backcloth, but the names, the voices, the stories. Our culture is not for exhibition. It’s a heartbeat.”
Her words resonated deeply with the purpose of the gathering which was to challenge the long-standing silence surrounding African heritage trapped abroad and to inspire a generation to reclaim their cultural identity.
The Ngonnso story is not only about the past but about healing a wound that has persisted for over a century. In Kumbo, preparations for her eventual return are already part of daily prayer. Women weave ceremonial cloths, musicians compose ancestral songs, and elders speak of reconciliation not only between people and their ancestors, but between Africa and its history.
Nso activist Sylvie Njobati of Cameroon. She traveled to Berlin to request that Ngonnso be returned.
“When she comes home, it will not just be about culture. It will be about healing for our people, for our land, and for history itself.” says Njobati,
For now, Ngonnso remains behind glass in Berlin, her carved eyes fixed toward home. But in Bamenda, through the voices of scholars, poets, and advocates, her spirit was alive once more.
And as the drums of Restitution 101 faded into the evening, one truth lingered, that the return of Ngonnso is not only inevitable, but essential. When she finally comes home, they say, the rains will again bless the hills of Nso, and the kingdom will stand whole.
By Bakah Derick for Hilltopvoices online
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