Abstract
This paper examines the overlooked case of Urhobo cultural artefacts dispersed across Western institutions and argues for their repatriation within the broader context of colonial-era acquisitions and decolonisation. While Benin bronzes have gained international attention in repatriation discourse, Urhobo artefacts remain marginalized despite their profound cultural significance. Sacred Iphri figures housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Brooklyn Museum, in New York, and ukiri drums displayed in the British Museum, in London, represent not merely artistic objects but repositories of Urhobo spiritual knowledge and cultural memory. Furthermore, these artefacts continue to be commodified through Western auction houses. Drawing on successful repatriation precedents, particularly following France's President Macron's 2017 declaration and the Sarr-Savoy Report, this study demonstrates how returning Urhobo artefacts would restore cultural sovereignty, provide educational resources, stimulate local tourism, and allow proper ritual contextualization. The paper addresses challenges including infrastructure constraints, security concerns, sacred-secular nature balance, and ownership disputes, and emphasizes that cultural repatriation represents not merely a transfer of objects but a rebalancing of global cultural exchange toward equity and mutual respect. The Urhobo people can heal historical wounds and enrich global understanding of their sophisticated artistic and spiritual traditions at local educational institutions by reclaiming their dispersed heritage.
