Ngonnso
Ngonnso is of cultural significance to the Nso people. She is believed to be the founder of Nso kingdom.
After her death, a wooden statue nearly a meter tall covered with cowrie shells was created in her honor as a symbol of hope and peace.
In 1902, this statue was taken by Kurt Von Pavel, and donated to Berlin's Ethnolgical Museum in 1903.
History
Ngonnso founded the Nso kingdom following a conflict with her two brothers. After her death, a statue was made in her honour. This statue was stolen by Kurt von Pavel and donated to the Berlin Ethnolgical Museum in 1903.Cultural significance
Ngonnso is considered mother deity, a symbol of hope and peace.She has an integral connection to the founding history of the Nso kingdom. The statue is named after a princess, who left Rifem in the Adamawa Region of Cameroon during the fight against the choice of a successor to the throne, and later established a new kingdom called Nso. As a deity, rituals are performed around her to ensure the survival and livelihood of the community. In order to ensure passing of historical knowledge and cultural practices form one generation to another, stories and oral history about Ngonnso are told.
Reparation efforts
The initiation of the statue's return to Cameroon was considered by the Foundation board because of the integral role it plays in the Nso Kingdom.Asides Ngonnso, other twenty seven royal and cultural objects of the Nso kingdom kept in Linden Museum are being negotiated to be officially returned.
Sylvie Vernyuy Njobati's effort in bringing Ngonnso back home
In 2008, Njobati started a campaign to bring back this statue home.The dialogue intensified in 2021 through her Bring Back Ngonnso initiative, made Hermann Parzinger, the president of Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation agreed to the return, and Njobati delivered a signed official restitution request.