The Bible and his whip - the latter an important symbol of his authority as tribal leader – were donated to the Linden-Museum in Stuttgart, Germany in 1902 by a former German colonial official, who had worked in South West Africa, now Namibia. The two heirlooms were forgotten for many decades until the debate started some ten years ago about the restitution of items brought to Europe by colonial powers. The debate caused several museums in Germany to check their catalogue lists for such items. The Witbooi Bible was re-discovered. In 2013, the Namibian government officially informed the German federal state Baden-Württemberg, that it wanted the Bible and the whip back. The negotiations took several years. At the start of 2019, the parliament of Baden-Württemberg had to change a law to enable the return of the two heirlooms.
“For Baden-Württemberg it is a historical obligation to return the Bible of the Witbooi family and the whip“, said the state’s Science Minister Theresia Bauer. “Both objects of this important Nama-Captain and resistance fighter against colonialism are of highest symbolic value for the Namibian people. With the restitution we are moving an important step forward towards the process of reconciliation.”
Bauer added that the restitution of colonial heirlooms were the starting point for an intensive dialogue and new, strong partnerships with the descendants of those population groups affected by colonial rule. “This is how we do it in Baden-Württemberg,” Minister Bauer emphasised.
Bauer was accompanied by a 30-strong delegation of Parliamentarians, academics from two universities, museums and archives as well as several journalists. “We want to review our common colonial history with Namibia and start a new chapter of cooperation,” Bauer explained.
Emotional three days in Namibia
The delegation arrived with the Bible and the whip early on 26 February at the Hosea Kutako International Airport and was received by Namibia’s Education and Culture Minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa and members of the Witbooi family. Soldiers of the Namibia Defence Force (NDF) lined the way from the aeroplane to the airport building as guard of honour. Officials from the Linden-Museum unpacked Witbooi’s Bible and his whip from the specially made wooden box to show them to the family. The current Chief Witbooi put his hands on the Bible to reconnect with his ancestor. Many of those present could not hide their tears during this emotional moment.
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