"Seen But Not Heard: The Forgotten Victims of Human Exhibitions"

Disclaimer:  This image is AI-generated for illustrative purposes and does not depict real people or events directly

A human zoo was a type of public exhibition in which people, usually from colonized, indigenous, or non-Western societies, were displayed in a manner similar to animals in a zoo. 

These exhibitions were popular in Europe, the United States, and other parts of the Western world from the 19th to early 20th centuries.

The following are the stories of some individuals and groups who were subjected to these exhibitions;

1. Saartjie Baartman (1789-1815)

Saartjie Baartman was a Khoikhoi woman from South Africa. She wa widely known as the "Hottentot Venus." She was taken to England and later to France, where she was exhibited as a curiosity because of her body’s physical features, especially her large buttocks.

Sara Baartman was born in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. After the death of her fiancé and child, she moved to Cape Town, where she worked as a servant.

In 1810, she was taken to London under false pretenses by a British doctor, William Dunlop, who promised her wealth and fame. There, she was exhibited in shows as the “Hottentot Venus” due to her large buttocks.

She was paraded half-naked and poked as a “curiosity”. In Paris, she came under the control of animal trainer S. Réaux, who continued to exploit her in embarassing ways.

After her death in 1815 at the age of 26 (likely from illness, possibly syphilis or pneumonia), her body was cut open by French scientists to examine organs.

Her skeleton, preserved genitals, and a plaster cast of her body were put on display at the Musée de l'Homme in Paris until 1974.

Many activists oppossed this dehumanizing acts, especially the South African President Nelson Mandela. France finally returned her remains to South Africa in 2002, where she was given a dignified burial in the Eastern Cape.

2. Ota Benga (1883-1916)

Ota Benga was a Mbuti man from the Congo. He became one of the victims of human zoos in the United States. 

He was a member of the Mbuti people, often referred to as “pygmies,” which is an indigenous group in Central Africa.

In 1904, American explorer and businessman Samuel Phillips Verner brought Ota Benga to the U.S. where he was firstly displayed at the St. Louis World's Fair as part of an "anthropological exhibit," with other people from various African ethnic groups.

In 1906, Ota Benga was put on display in the Bronx Zoo in New York, in the monkey cage with apes. This was done under the pretense of showcasing the “evolutionary link” between apes and humans.

Due to public and black people Opposition to such an act, Benga was released from the zoo and taken in by a some institutions. 

He tried to adjust to American life by learning English and having his teeth capped (he had originally filed his teeth as part of his cultural tradition).

This dehumanizing and disturbing treatment caused Benga much suffering. He  struggled with the trauma and discrimination until when he commited suicide in 1916.

3. Ishi (1860-1916)

Ishi was the last known member of the Yahi people from California. He was also known as the “last wild Indian” of North America. 

His real name is unknown; "Ishi" simply means "man" in the Yana language. According to Yahi tradition, a person does not speak their own name, and Ishi never revealed it. The Yahi people lived in the terrain near the Sierra Nevada hills.

On January 24, 1848, at Sutter’s Mill near Coloma gold was discovered in California, by James W. Marshall. Big migration of people to California from across the U.S. and around the world in search of fortune began. This migration came to be known by the name "Gold Rush (1848–1855)"

The migration brought many settlers who forcibly displaced Native peoples. The Yahi were killed in large numbers, their land was taken, and their way of life was disrupted.

By the early 20th century, it was believed the Yahi were extinct.

But in August 1911, Ishi emerged near Oroville, California, starving and alone. He was taken into custody by local authorities. 

He attracted the attention of anthropologists from the University of California Berkeley, such as Alfred Kroeber and Thomas Waterman.

They brought Ishi to live at the Museum of Anthropology in San Francisco, where he became a research subject and a cultural ambassador.

Ishi taught the researchers about Yahi culture, language, tools, and customs. He gave public demonstrations of bow-making, flint-knapping, and traditional Yahi life.

He lived at the museum for about five years. Ishi died of tuberculosis on March 25, 1916. His brain was removed during autopsy and sent to the Smithsonian Institution.

In 2000, due to requests from the Native American community and descendants of related tribes, Ishi’s remains were returned and laid to rest in accordance to the traditional customs.

4. Filipino Indigenous Groups at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair.

After the U.S. took control of the Philippines, large number of people were taken to St. Louis World’s Fair for exhibition of their uncivilized traditions.

The indigenous groups such as the Igorot, were brought to the fair and exhibited in mock “villages.” 

They were made to perform traditional dances, rituals and encouraged or forced to eat dogs in front of visitors to show their “savagery.”

5. Aboriginal Australians Exhibited in Europe.

In the 19th and 20th centuries, Aboriginal Australians were taken to Europe to be displayed at exhibitions and fairs.

They were shown in “native villages” in Germany and France. They were forced to perform dances and cultural rituals under close monitoring.

These displays showed racial segragation and justified the dispossession and mistreatment of indiginous people from different parts in the world. They were treated as curiosities rather than human beings with rights and dignity.