A restoration of cultural identity, memory and dignity

Through a showcase of photographs of recently returned cultural artefacts to Uganda, the exhibition Ethics of Loaning instigates deep conversations on the subject of restitution.

ARTS |  Dominic Muwanguzi |  The act of restitution is not new in Uganda’s cultural history. In 1961 as part of the preparations to gain independence from Britain, Abubaker Mayanja, then minister of education in the Buganda government, wrote a letter to the University of Cambridge requesting the return of Kibuuka Omubaale artifact that had been given to the institution by Sir Apollo Kaggwa. The artefact is an important spiritual symbol in Buganda, representing the god of war Kibuuka who during the reign of Kabaka Nakibinge played a critical role in the kingdom’s successive victories over its enemies. Heeding the request, the university returned the spiritual artefact, and today it is on display at the Uganda Museum.

This event, though hardly known in many Buganda circles, including the elite community, was partly significant in restoring the cultural dignity of the Kingdom but also opened conversations about the many cultural objects obtained either forcefully or freely from the different parts of the country and now are lying in British museums.

Sixty years later, this conversation on cultural object restoration has resurfaced in Uganda, mostly because of the renewal of a heated debate across the continent for the West to return all cultural artefacts in their possession to their original home.

Last year, 39 objects were returned to Uganda, and now images of some of these artefacts are on showcase at Nommo Gallery under the theme Ethics of Loaning. This photo exhibition, beyond the objective of strengthening the discourse on restitution in Uganda (Exhibition Catalogue), plays a crucial role in the restoration of cultural identity, dignity and memory among the public.

On showcase are photographs of the Etok, a headdress from Acholi made of human hair, decorated with beads and an ostrich feather; a royal drum from Buganda consisting of a wooden semi-cylinder covered with hide.

The drum is covered with cowrie shells and ancient beadwork, beautifully woven around its body that appropriately exudes its royal identity; a royal Queen Mother’s drum from Bunyoro with a rounded wooden body covered with hide skin and strings of plaited cowrie shells and beads, and a horn from a ram.

These selected objects symbolize the diverse cultural heritage of Uganda’s communities while delicately communicating the creative ingenuity found in the artisanal work of the respective communities who produced these works of art. For example, the symbolism of the material on the headdress illustrates the reverence the Acholi people have for their chiefs. The ostrich feather among the Acholi is part of the royal regalia and is worn to assert authority and continuity of leadership.

While this exhibition instigates conversations around cultural heritage and its restoration, it falters on the misrepresentation of some of these objects that prompts questions about the quality of curatorship of the show. For example, a photograph depicting Enjjembe (Spiritual medium) has the description “Enjjembe; is made from the hide of a creature with claws, covered in barkcloth,” which clearly demonstrates a lack of knowledge and information on the intricate details of Buganda’s spiritual norms and practices where the medium features dominantly. This mishap represents a broader failure of many cultural institutions on the African continent to perform their critical mandate of investing in research on the social cultural structures of indigenous communities and only rely on the prejudiced studies by the western cultural institutions leading to the debasing of objects of cultural significance. Such a glaring failure obviously validates the unpopular opinion by the West that Africa is not ready for the permanent restitution of its artefacts.

Nonetheless, this exhibition makes a contribution to the restoration of cultural identity, memory and dignity. The photographs on display will connect with the audience because of their realistic presentation, and through the process of visual interaction, meaningful conversations about individuals’ cultural identities will begin. In this, the Ethics of Loaning exhibition transcends beyond the visual display of artefacts to prompt conversations but is a timely intervention to the rapid wave of globalization that has submerged many communities across the continent into a complex and ambiguous world of one identity.

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The exhibition Ethics of Loaning is showing for three weeks at the Nommo Gallery, in Nakasero, Victoria Avenue, Kampala. The exhibition is made possible by the Franco-German Fund. Images are courtesy of Nommo gallery.