Ngonnso
Ngonnso is of cultural significance to the Nso people. She is believed to be the founder of Nso kingdom.[1] After her death, a wooden statue nearly a meter tall covered with cowrie shells was created in her honor as a symbol of hope and peace.
In 1902, this statue was taken by Kurt Von Pavel, and donated to Berlin's Ethnolgical Museum in 1903.[2]
History
Ngonnso founded the Nso kingdom following a conflict with her two brothers. After her death, a statue was made in her honour. This statue was stolen by Kurt von Pavel and donated to the Berlin Ethnolgical Museum in 1903.[3]
Cultural significance
Ngonnso is considered mother deity, a symbol of hope and peace.[4]
She has an integral connection to the founding history of the Nso kingdom. The statue is named after a princess, who left Rifem in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during the fight against the choice of a successor to the throne, and later established a new kingdom called Nso. As a deity, rituals are performed around her to ensure the survival and livelihood of the community. In order to ensure passing of historical knowledge and cultural practices form one generation to another, stories and oral history about Ngonnso are told.[5]
Reparation efforts
The initiation of the statue's return to Cameroon was considered by the Foundation board because of the integral role it plays in the Nso Kingdom. In December 2021, representatives of the Nso community in Cameroon and Germany, German museum officials and scholars held discussions on the provenance and significance of the statue. The Ethnologisches Museum acknowledged that the presence of colonial officer Kurt von Pavel and his armed entourage represented unequal power relations and structural colonial violence. The museum also recognised Ngonnso's spiritual significance to the Nso as a mother deity. These discussions contributed to the decision to return the statue to Cameroon.[6]
In June 2022, the Board of Trustees of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation authorised its president to conclude an agreement for Ngonnso's return to Cameroon. The decision came after negotiations involving German cultural institutions, Cameroonian authorities and representatives of the Nso community. Subsequently, the Ethnologisches Museum decided that Ngonnso would not be publicly exhibited again before her return.[7]
As of December 2024, the physical return of Ngonnso to Cameroon had not yet taken place, although the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation had formally authorised her restitution in 2022.
Asides Ngonnso, other twenty seven royal and cultural objects of the Nso kingdom kept in Linden Museum are being negotiated to be officially returned.
Sylvie Vernyuy Njobati's effort in bringing Ngonnso back home
The restitution campaign pursued by members of the Nso diaspora and activists, including Njobati, whose #BringBackNgonnso campaign in 2008 brought wider international attention to the case. In November 2022, the Fon of Nso, Sehm Mbinglo, visited Germany and met with representatives of the Ethnologisches Museum and the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation in connection with the restitution process. Discussions also concerned other Nso royal objects held in German collections.[8][9][10]
The dialogue intensified in 2021 through her Bring Back Ngonnso initiative, made Hermann Parzinger, the president of Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation (SPK) agreed to the return, and Njobati delivered a signed official restitution request.[11]
The case has been framed within broader debates about reparatory justice. Njobati has argued that the return of Ngonnso should not be understood solely as the recovery of a cultural object, but as part of a wider process of addressing the effects of colonialism. In a 2026 interview with Amnesty International, she linked reparatory justice to the reclamation of historical narratives, access to information, community awareness, and processes of repair and healing.[12] Scholars and institutions involved in restitution debates have likewise situated the Ngonnso case within wider discussions concerning the treatment of African cultural heritage acquired during European colonial rule.
See also
References
- ↑ Chakanetsa, Kim (16 June 2023). "Cameroon's Ngonnso: 'My fight to bring our sacred stolen statue home". BBC Home. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ Dohyee, Shuimo Trust (12 December 2024). "Bring back Ngonnso". Africa Is a Country. Retrieved 15 July 2025.
- ↑ Awosika, Tomisin (5 July 2022). "120 Years After It Was Stolen, Germany Is Returning Ngonnso' to Cameroon". The Republic. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
- ↑ "What's the statue of Goddess Ngonnso that Germany is returning to Cameroon after 120 years?". Firstpost. 2022-06-30. Retrieved 2025-07-17.
- ↑ Africa, Open Restitution (29 January 2025). "The Restitution Journey of Ngonnso from the Nso Kingdom in Cameroon". Open Restitution Africa. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
- ↑ Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu (27 June 2022). "Ethnologisches Museum: Returning the Ngonnso' to Cameroon". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ↑ "Ngonnso': Foundation Board clears the way for the return to Cameroon". Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. 2022-06-27. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ AMABO, Eulalia (2022-11-21). ""Ngonnso" Statue : Dialogue On Possible Repatriation". Cameroon-Tribune. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ "Royal Visit from Cameroon in Humboldt Forum". Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz. 2022-11-23. Retrieved 2026-08-10.
- ↑ Fonyuy, Bulami Edward. "The Restitution Journey of Ngonnso from the Nso Kingdom in Cameroon |". Open Restitution Africa. Retrieved 16 August 2026.
- ↑ "Ngonnso, the Covenant Box of the Nso Fondom". Access Point Africa. 13 December 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2025.
- ↑ Njobati, Sylvie (2026-03-21). "Sylvie Njobati: "The campaign #BringBackNgonnso isn't just for my grandfather, it is for my people too"". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2026-08-10.