Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - After the agreement on the return of a revered figure from Cameroon by the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, the king of the Nso people is hoping to get back all existing objects from his kingdom. King (Fon) Sehm Mbinglo I said on Thursday during a visit to the Linden Museum in Stuttgart that it is not a question of museum works of art that should be presented. Rather, they are spiritually and traditionally important to the well-being of his people. "They only make sense together," said the king. "Taking one and leaving others is not an option."
Fon Sehm Mbinglo I had previously demanded the return of royal objects for his people. It is also unclear how many royal and cultic objects from Cameroon's north-western province are involved. A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Science emphasized that no commitments had yet been made regarding a possible return. First of all, questions about the history of the object and its acquisition must be clarified as comprehensively as possible. The Nso are also not the only ones: other Cameroonian groups have also requested their return, it said.
The Fon was very satisfied with the visit and the discussions. "Returning the items would be a turning point in the history of my people," he told the German Press Agency. "But it's about all objects," he emphasized again. "If you consider some to be more important than others, it would be like considering one of your children to be more important than the others."
As a colony, Cameroon was part of the German Empire from 1884 to 1916.
