By: Kevin Zhou

On Friday, Germany gave Colombia two masks made by the Indigenous Kogi people. These wooden sun masks were displayed in Berlin for more than 100 years.

Last year, Germany and Nigeria signed an agreement on returning artifacts called the Benin Bronzes that were taken from Africa many decades ago. Nigerian officials hope that this will inspire other countries to do the same. Germany has already returned 22 artifacts to Nigeria to fulfill their agreement. Because of this, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier knew that these masks were similarly important to the Kogi people, so they decided to send them to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountains of northern Colombia so the masks could be returned.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro hopes that more pieces can be returned. He wanted them to be displayed in a museum at Santa Marta, but the Kogi community decided otherwise.

The Kogi community decided to keep using them, as it is their way of connecting with the spirits of the sun, water, and mountains. However, the masks have been treated with dangerous pesticides at the museum, and although Rudolf Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Foundation, said the masks were “detoxified,” “We still have some doubt over whether they can be directly worn in front of the face. That remains to be seen.”

Unfortunately, Zalabata, the Kogi representative, said that no one was warned anyone about the dangers of the masks.