Latest news with #BeninBronzes
The Star
a day ago
- Entertainment
- The Star
Game 'reloots' African artefacts from Western museums
Ncube plays a game called 'Relooted' at their office space in Rosebank near Johannesburg. Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. — AFP JOHANNESBURG: Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players "reclaim" artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, Relooted is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts – all of which exist in real life – with a "team of African citizens", said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the "Benin Bronzes" sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. "Its removal destabilised the community," Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players "can see where it's from... and read about the history," she said, giving a demo. 'Is it stealing?' On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: "Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?" "We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together," said the character Nomali. "Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting," Ncube told AFP. "It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world." Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic "Broken Hill Man", a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in Relooted . But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. "Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country," Ncube said. "My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'." Skewed identity The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their "archives" and "knowledge systems", said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. "Our history predates colonisation by millennia," she told AFP, but many people "don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity." Reclaiming these objects would enable "a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity," she said. The same hope underpinned Relooted , which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles's Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. "I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light," she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as "the brains behind the mission". "I started seeing my own grandmother in her," Ncube said with emotion. "She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for." – AFP
New Straits Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- New Straits Times
Game 'reloots' African artefacts from Western museums
JOHANNESBURG: Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players "reclaim" artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, "Relooted" is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts – all of which exist in real life – with a "team of African citizens", said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the "Benin Bronzes" sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. "Its removal destabilised the community," Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players "can see where it's from... and read about the history," she said, giving a demo. On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: "Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?" "We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together," said the character Nomali. "Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting," Ncube told AFP. "It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world." Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic "Broken Hill Man", a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in "Relooted." But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. "Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country," Ncube said. "My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'." The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their "archives" and "knowledge systems", said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. "Our history predates colonisation by millennia," she told AFP, but many people "don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity." Reclaiming these objects would enable "a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity," she said. The same hope underpinned "Relooted", which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles' Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. "I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light," she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as "the brains behind the mission." "I started seeing my own grandmother in her," Ncube said with emotion. "She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for." - AFP
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Int'l Business Times
Game 'Reloots' African Artefacts From Western Museums
Under the cover of darkness, Nomali jumped over a wall, burst into a museum and snatched a human skull from a pedestal before escaping through a window to the wail of an alarm. The daring heist was not the work of a real-life criminal. Nomali is the protagonist of a new action-packed video game where players "reclaim" artefacts taken from African countries to be displayed in the West. Developed by Johannesburg studio Nyamakop, "Relooted" is set in an imaginary future but tackles a topical issue: calls for Western institutions to return to Africa the spoils of colonisation. Players are tasked with taking back 70 artefacts -- all of which exist in real life -- with a "team of African citizens", said producer Sithe Ncube, one of a team of 30 working on the game. The items include the "Benin Bronzes" sculptures removed from the former kingdom of Benin more than 120 years ago, and which The Netherlands officially returned to Nigeria on June 21. Another is the sacred Ngadji drum from Kenya's Pokomo community, which was confiscated by British colonial authorities in 1902. "Its removal destabilised the community," Ncube said as an animated drawing of the wooden instrument flashed on her computer. Players "can see where it's from... and read about the history," she said, giving a demo. On the screen a crew of characters in Afrofuturist costumes debated a plan to recover the remains of Tanzanian chiefs hanged by German colonial forces. One asked: "Is it stealing to take back what was stolen?" "We are going to do whatever it takes to take back Africa's belongings, and we are going to do it together," said the character Nomali. "Sometimes the stories behind these (artefacts) are actually very upsetting," Ncube told AFP. "It makes you see how much colonialism has affected... and shaped the world." Growing up in Zambia, she knew of her country's iconic "Broken Hill Man", a skull about 300,000 years old held in London's Natural History Museum and which is also featured in "Relooted". But it was only when working on the game that Ncube realised how many African cultural artefacts were held abroad, she said. In France alone, museums stored about 90,000 objects from sub-Saharan Africa, according to a 2018 report commissioned by the government. "Africans, to actually see these things that are part of their own culture, have to get a visa, pay for flights and go to a European country," Ncube said. "My whole life, I've never seen 'Broken Hill Man'." The looting of artefacts over centuries robbed communities of their "archives" and "knowledge systems", said Samba Yonga, co-founder of the digital Museum of Women's History in Zambia. "Our history predates colonisation by millennia," she told AFP, but many people "don't even realise that we have a skewed sense of self and identity." Reclaiming these objects would enable "a shift in how the next generation views their culture and identity," she said. The same hope underpinned "Relooted", which was unveiled this month at Los Angeles's Summer Game Fest where it attracted a lot of interest from the diaspora and other Africans, Ncube said. "I hope that the game encourages people from other African countries to want to tell their own stories and bring these things to light," she said. One character felt personal for the producer: Professor Grace, Nomali's grandmother and described as "the brains behind the mission". "I started seeing my own grandmother in her," Ncube said with emotion. "She represents a connection between our generations, fighting for the same thing we've always been fighting for." Producer Sithe Ncube says the video game shows how much colonialism shaped African identity AFP The 'Benin Bronzes", which The Netherlands returned to Nigeria on June 21, are among the objects featured in the game AFP
Russia Today
4 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Netherlands returns colonial loot to Nigeria
The Netherlands has returned 119 artifacts to Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia and a historic bell. They were looted from the West African country more than a century ago. The items, known as the Benin Bronzes, were handed over during an official ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, on Saturday. The artifacts were ransacked in the late 19th century when British forces stormed the Benin Kingdom, in what is now southern Nigeria, plundered its royal palaces, and exiled King Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. The ruler had sought to defend his kingdom's independence and control over trade in palm oil, rubber, and ivory amid mounting British pressure. 'The return is unconditional, recognizing that the objects were looted during the British attack on Benin City in 1897, and should have never ended up in the Netherlands,' the Dutch government said in a press release. 'The Dutch restitution is the largest physical return of Benin artifacts to Nigeria to date,' it stated. Nigeria intensified its demands for the return of the Benin Bronzes in 2022, when the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) formally called on institutions around the world to hand back looted artifacts. In August that year, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London announced the repatriation of 72 Benin Bronzes from its collection to Africa's most populous country. Months later, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum followed, returning 31 items – including a piece known as the 'Head of a King' – to Nigeria's National Collections. Speaking at the Netherlands government's handover event on Saturday, NCMM Director-General Olugbile Holloway described the artifacts as 'embodiments of the spirit and identity of the people from whom they were taken.' 'All we ask of the world is to treat us with fairness, dignity and respect,' he said, according to Al Jazeera news. Several other African countries have stepped up pressure on Western museums to return artifacts looted during the colonial era. In January 2024, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum announced the return of more than 30 royal treasures to Ghana, following a loan agreement with the Manhyia Palace Museum. The items had been stolen from a king of the Ashanti Kingdom in the 19th century. In July 2023, Oxford University offered 196 cows to Maasai families in Kenya and Tanzania as compensation for artifacts looted and exported to the UK over a century ago.
Russia Today
5 days ago
- General
- Russia Today
Netherlands returns colonial loots to Nigeria
The Netherlands has returned 119 artifacts to Nigeria, including human and animal figures, plaques, royal regalia and a historic bell. They were looted from the West African country more than a century ago. The items, known as the Benin Bronzes, were handed over during an official ceremony at the National Museum in Lagos, Nigeria's largest city, on Saturday. The artifacts were ransacked in the late 19th century when British forces stormed the Benin Kingdom, in what is now southern Nigeria, plundered its royal palaces, and exiled King Ovonramwen Nogbaisi. The ruler had sought to defend his kingdom's independence and control over trade in palm oil, rubber, and ivory amid mounting British pressure. 'The return is unconditional, recognizing that the objects were looted during the British attack on Benin City in 1897, and should have never ended up in the Netherlands,' the Dutch government said in a press release. 'The Dutch restitution is the largest physical return of Benin artifacts to Nigeria to date,' it stated. Nigeria intensified its demands for the return of the Benin Bronzes in 2022, when the National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) formally called on institutions around the world to hand back looted artifacts. In August that year, the Horniman Museum and Gardens in London announced the repatriation of 72 Benin Bronzes from its collection to Africa's most populous country. Months later, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum followed, returning 31 items – including a piece known as the 'Head of a King' – to Nigeria's National Collections. Speaking at the Netherlands government's handover event on Saturday, NCMM Director-General Olugbile Holloway described the artifacts as 'embodiments of the spirit and identity of the people from whom they were taken.' 'All we ask of the world is to treat us with fairness, dignity and respect,' he said, according to Al Jazeera news. Several other African countries have stepped up pressure on Western museums to return artifacts looted during the colonial era. In January 2024, the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum announced the return of more than 30 royal treasures to Ghana, following a loan agreement with the Manhyia Palace Museum. The items had been stolen from a king of the Ashanti Kingdom in the 19th century. In July 2023, Oxford University offered 196 cows to Maasai families in Kenya and Tanzania as compensation for artifacts looted and exported to the UK over a century ago.
