Restituer le patrimoine « africain »

Abstract

Ethnographic collections which were accumulated in Western countries during colonial period are now part of a European ideological movement claiming for their repatriation as an act aiming to « heal history ». Recent announcement by president Emmanuel Macron followed by the Sarr and Savoy assessment report seem to confirm this way. This article proposes a dispassionate analysis about the restitution issue, as well as on the logic of thought that define the reality of African tangible heritage.

Keywords

• repatriation
• African heritage
• collection
• guilt
• authenticity