In a major step toward decolonizing its archives, Belgium's Royal Museum for Central Africa (AfricaMuseum) has repatriated a collection of 15th-century royal scepters to the government of Angola. Carved from elephant ivory and adorned with intricate spiritual motifs, these scepters were once the primary symbols of authority for the rulers of the Kingdom of Kongo before being seized during the colonial period.
The return is part of a 10-year bilateral agreement aimed at restoring cultural identity to the region. The scepters will be housed in the Museum of the Kings of Kongo in M'banza Kongo, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Experts noted that the return of these specific items is significant because they were believed to hold the spiritual essence of the ancestors, and their absence for over a century was considered a profound cultural loss.