Reinventing the archive in Africa
Mati Diop’s Dahomey (2024)
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7473939 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rita Keresztesi (0000-0003-1018-5611, University of Oklahoma, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 65-81 |
| Publication date | 2026-02-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Memory Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1750-6980 • E-ISSN: 1750-6999 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/17506980251397874 |
| OpenAlex | W7117472643 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 8 |
The documentary film Dahomey by Mati Diop participates in the public debate on the restitution of heritage works to colonized countries. The film follows the return of the Royal Treasures of Abomey in Benin from France in 2021. The visual memorialization of the restoration of stolen artifacts is a decolonial statement on the reparation of tangible and intangible losses. As Aminata Traoré comments, “Thus our works of art have the right to exist where we are, on the whole, banned from staying.” Diop places the returned artifacts in conversation with the people whose sacred objects were looted, showing that these works of art are not just historical objects but also relationships to lives lived. In the film, the artifacts speak and make palpable the decontextualization and violence of their displacement. This article examines how the film views cultural restitution as a process of actively repairing the broken links of life and history for the reinvention of memories of oneself and the restoration of the community
Conversation · Corporation · Cultural artifact · Cultural heritage · Memorialization · Public history · Restitution · Visual culture · African history and culture studies · African Studies and Ethnography · Cultural Identity and Heritage
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |