SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WJPF) — The Illinois State Museum has returned 37 wooden memorial statues, also known as known as vigango, to the National Museums of Kenya. 

These statues are considered sacred cultural objects and are believed to carry the spirits of male elders who have passed away.  The statues will ultimately be repatriated to the native Mijikenda communities.

The vigango, or singular kigango, were initially removed from Mijikenda villages and sacred sites in the 1980s, then acquired by art collectors, and later transferred to the Illinois State Museum as part of a large art collection.

Unbeknownst to the Museum, the vigango never should have been taken in the first place. In 2006, Museum staff discovered that a kigango in its collection had been stolen and subsequently returned it to its rightful owner.  Moreover, through the Museum’s extensive research and collaboration with colleagues in Kenya, it has now successfully returned all remaining vigango in its collection to the National Museums of Kenya for repatriation to Mijikenda communities.