Ernst Thiele, men from the island Tutuila, Samoa, during a human exhibition in Germany (1890). Collection Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, id.nr. WMR-908477-1.
Roslyn Poignant (1927 – 2019) 1 focused in her book Professional Savages on groups from North Queensland, Australia, who were exhibited by R.A Cunningham in the 1880s and 1890s. She briefly discussed the group of men who were recruited by Cunningham on the Samoan island of Tutuila. 2 Poignant didn’t include visual materials of this group in her work. Nevertheless, based on her description, it seems plausible that the photograph in the collection of the Nederlands Fotomuseum is a portrait of seven of the nine Samoans.
According to Poignant, impresario Cunningham arrived in Samoa in June 1889, a time when the United States, Great Britain as well as Germany claimed territory in the archipelago. Cunningham intended to exhibit the group for three years, starting in San Francisco. 3 The Washington Post spoke of ‘Samoan Warriors’ : ‘who are brought here to give exhibitions of war dancing and club and knife throwing. Their names are Manogi, Leasodso, Atofau, Foi, Mua, Lealofy, Letungaifo, Tu and Tasita. They will appear in their native costume, which consists of a piece of lappa cloth wound around the loins, a wreath of flowers around their necks and a string of vegetables around their heads. They do not like San Francisco. They say it is too cold, and they already want to get back to Samoa.‘ 4
In October 1889 Cunningham brought the group to New York, where the New York Tribune called Lealofy ‘the poet of the party, who composes impromptu songs on any occasion. […] The warriors yesterday seated themselves in a row on the floor and took up a war song, started by the poet, to the music of two mulberry sticks. They kept perfect time both in their singing and in the movement of their bodies. ‘5
Three of the six men described by Virchow, during their stay in Berlin (1890). Source: Zeitschrift für Ethnologie 22 (1890), 385.
The group travelled by ship from New York to Germany. In Berlin, the group was observed by ethnologist Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902). He remarked that ‘ihr Tanz von dem uns geläufigen wesentlich abweicht, indem er nich sowohl mit den Beinen, als mit den Armen un dem Rumpf getanzt wird. Die Samoaner sitzen mit gekreuzten oder ausgepreizten Beinen. flach auf dem Boden in einer langen Reihe und machen dann symmetrische Bewegungen, anfangs langsam, später hastig und gewaltsam, gegen einander.‘ 6
The photograph of 1890 shows seven men, accordingly, Virchow mentioned that seven Samoans performed in the Flora of Charlottenburg, a luxurious entertainment establishment in Berlin, beside the river Spree. Besides a stage the Flora consisted of a park and palm garden. However, only six men are included in Virchow’s table of physical measurements. 7 During his anthropometric research, Virchow noted a ‘vortrefflichlen Gesundheitszustande. Ihre Körper sind stark und wohl gebildet, ihr Ernährungszustand gut, ohne zur Fettbildung zu neigen, ihre Leistungen von einer überraschenden Energie.‘ 8
Although Virchow praised their outstanding health, Poignant found German newspaper articles reporting two men deceased before the group reached Berlin. Atofau died in Belgium, followed a few days later by Tu when the group stayed in Cologne. Poignant wrote that Cunningham returned to the United States with five Samoans, where he left the men with another impresario.9 During the continuation of the tour in the winter of 1890-1891, Letungaifo died. His body was embalmed by the local funeral home and put on display as a curiosity. Manogi, Tasita, Mua and Foi were left on the streets of New York, where a journalist reported about them. City officials funded their return trip to Samoa. Manogi died en route and was buried in the United States. Only Tasita, Mua and Foi returned to Tutuila, Samoa. 10
Lithographie Henry Sicard et Farradesche (paris 1892). collection Bibliothèques spécialisées de la Ville de Paris, 1-AFF-001369
Les premiers articles sur l’exhibition un groupe de Surinamais Kalina au Jardin d’Acclimatation, ont paru dans le quotidien « De West Indïer ». Le 24 janvier 1892, le journal rapportait que trois jours auparavant, un groupe d’hommes, de femmes et d’enfants était arrivé d’Albina dans la capitale surinamaise de Paramaribo, où ils avaient été examinés médicalement à l’hôpital militaire. Le journal avait des doutes sur l’exhibition: qui pouvait garantir que l’organisateur Laveaux remplirait ses devoirs auprès du groupe? Est-ce une tâche pour Son Excellence le Gouverneur d’interdire le voyage à Paris? 1 « Nieuwsblad Suriname » a répondu à cela avec un point de vue différent. Il serait erroné d’interdire le départ: «Il ne faut pas oublier que, bien qu’Indiens, ils partagent en tant que peuple libre tous les droits que la loi garantit aux citoyens ». 2
Un jour plus tard, « De West Indiër » a offert une réfutation. Le journal avait appris que Laveaux voulait initialement recruter des participants en Guyane française, mais le conseil a refusé de laisser sortir les Kalina. Les enquêtes ont montré que le groupe Kalina de la rive néerlandaise était au courant de l’interdiction du gouvernement français, mais ne voyait aucune objection à faire le voyage en Europe. Le journal se réjouit que l’administration coloniale néerlandaise avait décidé de placer le groupe sous la protection du consul néerlandais lors de leur exhibition à Paris. « De West Indiër » étaient d’accord avec le commentaire du concurrent « Suriname » selon lequel il s’agissait d’un choix de personnes libres:
mais il est également vrai que le gouvernement les considère jusqu’ici comme incapables. Partout où il y a des indigènes qui, en raison de leur développement limité, de même ne seront pas autorisés à inciter les gens à déménager dans un pays étranger sans l’autorisation des autorités.3
Prince Roland Bonaparte, Exhibition ethnographique de Caraïbes mars 1892, Collectie Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, PV0023866.
A partir du 26 février 1892, le groupe séjourne dans le boulevard Nouveau Hall, une verrière. Ils ont attiré 30 000 visiteurs le premier dimanche, et plus tard dans le mois, le président Carnot a rendu visite au groupe. 4 En mars 1892, le consul des Pays-Bas à Paris écrivit une lettre au gouverneur du Suriname, qui fut a été imprimée plus d’un mois plus tard dans le journal « Suriname ». Immédiatement après l’arrivée du groupe au Jardin, le consul avait inspecté leurs conditions. Lors de deux visites, il a constaté qu’il faisait très froid dehors, mais que le groupe n’en souffrait pas n’était pas affecté car ils étaient logés dans la serre chauffée. Le consul, MJH van Lier, a rapporté qu’un participant était décédé. Pecapé, 15 ans, est selon les médecins décédé d’une maladie cardiaque et a été enterré à Paris. Van Lier a écrit dans la lettre qu’il visiterait le Jardin chaque semaine et qu’il serait prêt immédiatement lorsque les circonstances l’exigeraient.5
Il n’y a pas de lettres de suivi du consul dans les archives numériques des journaux. Néanmoins, le quotidien français « La Cocarde » a lancé une campagne en avril contre l’exhibition de les Kalina. Il y a eu une condamnation sévère avec des titres tels que « Exhibitions inhumaines » et « La Traite des Caraïbes ». « La Cocarde » a rapporté qu’un autre homme était mort. Les Kalina avait voulu quitter Paris et s’était révoltée lorsque cela s’était avéré impossible.6 Plus de six semaines plus tard, les recherches de « La Cocarde » parviennent dans les colonnes de la presse surinamaise.
Guyane. Gaséï, 15 ans, jeune indien caraïbe. Face”, Collection Musée du Quai Branly, Paris, PV0060251.
Après la fin de l’exhibition le nombre réel de morts est devenu clair. Fin mai, « Algemeen Handelsblad » a publié une lettre d’un correspondant privé qui avait visité le Jardin plusieurs fois. Pas deux, mais huit personnes sont ont mortes ici, on dit qu’elles ont été emmenées dans des cimetières inconnus. Selon le correspondant, les membres restants étaient « atteints d’une grave maladie du sein ».Les Kalinja souffraient du froid du printemps français, mais selon le correspondant il n’y avait «aucune pensée de leur donner des vêtements ici; puis, entre autres, le revêtement des parties du corps tatouées aurait perdu une grande partie des caractéristiques typiques de l’exposition et attirerait beaucoup moins de curieux. » Comme il n’y a pas eu d’agression intentionnelle et que les termes du contrat ont été respectés, ni les gouvernements français ni néerlandais n’ont pu intervenir, a déclaré l’auteur inconnu. Ce dernier avait délibérément attendu pour envoyer sa lettre jusqu’à ce que la Kalina ait quitté Paris pour éviter que son écriture ne soit interprétée comme une mise en accusation du gouvernement néerlandais. Le correspondant ne voulait rien reprocher au gouverneur du Suriname, mais espérait empêcher qu’à l’avenir« les ressortissants néerlandais, bien qu’ils ne soient peut-être pas citoyens néerlandais, deviennent l’objet d’une aussi mauvaise exploitation. »7
Après leur séjour à Paris, le groupe a été exhibé à Bruxelles, Berlin et Dresde. Ils sont revenus d’Amsterdam à Paramaribo. A leur retour, le quotidien « De West Indiër » a répondu aux rumeurs selon lesquelles les Kalina avaient refusé des médicaments. Selon le journal, cependant, il était prévisible que : « ces habitants de la forêt, habitués à leur vie libre, ne seraient pas en mesure d’accepter soudainement toutes les mesures qui s’avéreraient nécessaires dans l’intérêt de leur vie et de leur santé ». Le journal a également rapporté que le consul néerlandais à Berlin avait traité les Kalina de manière très désagréable et que Laveaux s’était déclaré en faillite. Ainsi, les membres survivants ont été payés pendant 3,5 mois, alors qu’ils ont été exposés pendant plus de cinq mois. Le journal a appelé le gouvernement néerlandais à payer le montant restant; il serait « plus que honteux » que les hommes, les femmes et les enfants soient privés du salaire durement gagné.8
Sauvages, au coeur des zoos humains, (2019) Moliko Kali’na de Guyane
In the period 1870-1890 José Augusto da Cunha Moraes photographed European trading posts along the coastline of Congo and Angola. The Dutch National Museum of World Cultures holds several of these images in its collection.
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes , Portrait of a mafuka or linguister with his family, ca. 1880. Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. A45-39.
Companies like the Nieuwe Afrikaansche Handels Vennootschap (NAHV) built premises, so-called ‘factories’, on plots of land that belonged to local rulers. In return, the companies were obliged to pay for the use of the land. Furthermore, local rulers provided each factory with a representative, or ‘mafuka’. The mafuka, called ‘linguisters’ by the Europeans, were men of distinct families with in-depth knowledge of local law, politics, and the network of African traders. They negotiated prices between the trading companies and the African traders who brought agricultural produce; thus they were crucial for the profitability of European trade.
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes , Portrait of a mafuka or linguister, ca. 1880. Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. A45-38.
All trading companies depended on African labour for an array of tasks, these workers were managed by the linguister. 1 Men and women from the coastal region Cabinda in particular were recruited as canoe men, cooks, carpenters, and domestic servants. Appreciated by European trading agents, the Dutch NAHV-employee Onno Zwier van Sandick described the men and women from this region as ‘relatively developed’ and ‘with potential to be civilized’, claiming they learned their skills of British and Portuguese ships who patrolled the Congolese coast to prevent illegal transatlantic slave shipments.2.
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, Man and woman from Cabinda, ca. 1870-1889. Collection Nederlands Fotomuseum, id.nr. WMR-902005
The Rijksmuseum and The National Museum of World Cultures (Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen – NMvW) in The Netherlands together hold over more than two hundred photographs by José Augusto da Cunha Moraes (1855-1933) in their collection. His father opened a photography studio in São Paolo de Loanda (now: Luanda) in 1863, and J.A. da Cunha Moraes became a professional photographer in the 1870s. By the 1880s he had produced over four hundred photographs. According to historian Jill Dias (1944-2008), his individual portraits were exceptional, for they captured the social contrasts in the capital of colonial Angola.1
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, View of Luanda (ca. 1876-1886), Collection Rijksmuseum, id.nr. RP-F-2001-7-683-1.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, inhabitants of the coastal town Loanda were divided into two categories: civilized and uncivilized.2 White Europeans constituted the elite of society, among them were landlords, traders and slave owners. 3 A minority were free Portuguese settlers, the majority came to Angola as convicts (degredados). Since early modern times Portugal had practiced degredo: the limiting or degrading of the legal status of convicts by means of forced exile.4 The exiles served a practical purpose: 97% of Portuguese migrants choose Brazil as their new home. The African colonieswere no less important in the Portuguese self-perception as an imperial nation. Forced colonization provided the necessary manpower to make the overseas territories profitable. 5
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, portrait of two women, one dressed in Angolan panos the other in a European dress, ca. 1870. Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. A274-56.
Since Portuguese settlers and degredados were almost exclusively male, they formed families with local women. Their mixed race descendants were included in the Loandan elite of ‘civilized peope’. 6 These Euro-Africans acquired positions in education, in the army, clergy and public offices of the colonial administration – although their main economic occupation remained trade, including slave trade. 7
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, portrait of a Luso-African woman in Loanda belonging to the Gamboa family, ca. 1880, Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. RV-A45-52.
Dias stated Da Cunha Moraes preserved the image of this elite, 8 but didn’t include any examples. Hitherto I haven’t been able to find other secondary literature on this subject that provides photographs from the end of the nineteenth century. Unfortunately somewhat speculative, I wonder whether some of the photographs in the collection of the NMvW are portraits of women belonging to the Luso-African elite. In some of the captions of the NMvW it is explicitly mentioned the women are of mixed descent. One description (RV-A45-52) contains the family name of the sitter: Gamboa.
Experts emphasize that the Loandan elite of the nineteenth century was culturally and racially mixed.9 The category of the ‘civilized’ included Africans of different ethnic groups, who were educated, Christian, cosmopolitan, possessed assets, capital and dressed in a European manner. It might not be impossible that Da Cunha Moraes portrayed African families of the Europeanized elite of his city, who designated themselves as ‘filhos da terra‘, ‘filhos do país‘, (sons of the country) or ‘Angolenses‘.
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, Portrait of a couple from Loanda, ca. 1870. The woman is wearing Angolese panos, the man is dressed in a European suit and shoes. The appropriate object on the table in the studio was a boat. Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. RVA274-67.
Around the turn of the century, social relations in Angola transformed, leading to the subordination of the ‘filhos da terra’. Portuguese planters and administrators who failed to achieve economic and social development ascribed this to the ‘inherent barbarism’ of Africans. In their perspective, modernizing Angola equaled increasing the white population. As a consequence, the white population of Angola tripled between 1900-1930. Furthermore, a new, racially differentiated wage system was established, along with a limit for the number of Africans that could be employed in the civil service. Hence, being white became a prerequisite for positions of authority in the colonial administration. 10. By 1920 the Euro-African elite had been excluded from the administration of the colony and public life. 11
José Augusto da Cunha Moraes, Portrait of a mother and daughter, ca. 1870. The girl is holding a missal in her hand and wearing shoes, an important marker of ‘civilization’. Collection Nationaal Museum van Wereldculturen, id.nr. RVA274-64.
De collectie van het Rijksmuseum omvat een drietal foto’s van Samuel Bourne waarop een rivieroever en een gedenkteken centraal lijken te staan. Bourne maakte de foto’s in 1865 om plaatsen van herinnering in Cawnpore (nu: Kanupur) vast te leggen. Hier werden in de beginfase van Indiase Opstand (1857-1858) gewelddadig Britse mannen, vrouwen en kinderen gedood.
Soldaat uit de East India Company Bengal Army. De Indiase soldaten stonden bekend als sipahi, door de Britten sepoy genoemd. Collectie Rijksmuseum, inv.nr. NG-2010-48.
De Indiase Opstand (1857-1858)was gericht tegen het gezag van de Britse East India Company (EIC). Tegen 1850 opereerde de EIC niet langer als een handelscompagnie, maar richtte het zich volledig op het civiel en militair bestuur van India.1 De opstand begon in mei 1857 in het kantonnement Meerut (in Noord-India) en werd bijna een jaar later neergeslagen; na de overkomst van 35,000 manschappen uit Groot-Brittannië. 2 In de geschiedschrijving is de Opstand tot in de twintigste eeuw aangeduid als de ‘sepoy muiterij’. Het leger van de EIC leunde vanaf de achttiende eeuw sterk op Indiase sipahi (soldaten) in hun oorlogsvoering tegen de Fransen en Indiase vorsten.3 De muiterij in Meerut zou zij voortgekomen uit de weerzin van zowel Hindoeïstische als Islamitische soldaten in het Bengaals leger van de EIC tegen het gebruik van dierlijk vet voor de kogels van de nieuw ingevoerde Enfield geweren. 4
Historicus Biswamoy Pati (1956-2017) kenschetste in zijn inleiding op een bundel over de Indiase Opstand, het centraal stellen van de muiterij van de sepoys, als een ‘typisch koloniaal perspectief.’ 5 De voorstelling dat één groep in opstand kwam en dit beperkt bleef tot Noord-India, was immers gunstig voor de koloniale machthebber. Roy haalde in zijn introductie studies aan waaruit bleek dat brede lagen van de bevolking in 1857 in verzet kwamen; van grootgrondbezitters die zich keerden tegen belastinghervormingen tot landbouwers en adivasi (inheemse gemeenschappen). Daarbij strekten opstanden van uiteenlopende groepen zich uit over geheel India, tot in het uiterste zuiden. Bovendien was de uitbarsting in 1857 een voortzetting van hevig verzet sinds de eerste helft van de negentiende eeuw tegen de toenemende macht van de East India Company.6 Pati noemde als element van het koloniaal perspectief de nadruk op de ‘barbaarse aard’ van de opstandelingen. 7 Dit aspect trad op de voorgrond in de herinneringspolitiek rondom de gebeurtenissen in Cawnpore.
Samuel Bourne, De Satti Chaura Ghat, Cawnpore. Oever van de rivier Ganges waar Britse mannen werden gedood. (1865). Collectie Rijksmuseum, inv.nr. RP-F-F80455
Waterput
Een van de noordelijke steden waar de bevolking en soldaten in opstand kwamen was Cawnpore. Indiase handelaren en geldschieters die gefortuneerd waren door zaken te doen met de Britten, werden tot doelwit. Britse burgers en militairen zochten in juni 1857 hun toevlucht in versterkte barakken aan de zuidelijke rand van de stand. Na drie weken van beschietingen garandeerde de lokale leider van de Opstand, Nana Sahib, de groep een veilige overtocht met vier boten over de rivier Ganges. Echter, op het moment dat de Britten bij de rivieroever Satti Chaura Ghat aan boord gingen, werden zij door de opstandelingen onder vuur genomen. Mannen die dit overleefden werden alsnog in de rivier, of later aan land, ter door gebracht. De vrouwen en kinderen werden naar een afgelegen villa in Cawnpore gebracht. Rebellerende soldaten weigerden hen te doden. Deze daad werd verricht door ingehuurde slagers, die de meer dan tweehonderd lichamen achterlieten in een waterput.8 In zijn beschrijving van de gebeurtenissen merkt Mukherjee op dat geweld een ‘essentieel component was van de Britse aanwezigheid in India.’ De Opstand doorbrak het geweldsmonopolie van de Britten, met gewelddadigheden van Indiërs die tot dan toe ongekend waren. 9
Herinneringspolitiek
Samuel Bourne, beeld van de Angel of Resurrection, gebouwd op de waterput met de lichamen van tweehonderd gedode vrouwen, afgeschermd door een muur in gotische stijl (1865). Collectie Rijksmuseum, inv.nr. RP-F-F80449.
In 1858, de opstand was nog in volle gang, werd het beeld van de ‘Engel der wederopstanding’ geplaatst, in 1863 werd het ommuurd door een achthoekig bouwwerk in gotische stijl. Vrijwel direct na de opening van het park werd het een vast onderdeel in de rondreis van hoogwaardigheidsbekleders én Britse toeristen. In 1875, toen de Prins van Wales Cawnpore het monument aandeed, trok het monument dagelijks bezoekers; tot het begin van de twintigse eeuw meer dan de Taj Mahal. Auteur Heathorn schrijft dat de Indiase Opstand de symbolische afstand tussen de Britten en de Indiërs vergrootte: de moorden in Cawnpore zouden hun gedegeneerde, wilde en barbaarse aard tonen. De ‘Engel der opstanding’ fungeerde niet louter als gedenkplaats voor de onschuldige vrouwen en kinderen die het leven lieten; het was evenzeer een waarschuwing voor het alomtegenwoordige gevaar van een nieuwe rebellie. Aanvankelijk diende dit ter rechtvaardiging van represailles gedurende de opstand 10 , zoals het in brand steken van dorpen in de nabije omgeving van Cawnpore waarbij de bewoners omkwamen. In juni 1857 werd krijgswetgeving aangenomen waardoor het leger burgers kon berechten. In de praktijk leidde dit tot ophanging op grote schaal van mannen die verdacht werden van muiterij. 11 Ideeën over het niet aflatend Indiase gevaar werden gereproduceerd door de toeristische ‘pelgrimage’ langs alle steden waar de Britten grote verliezen leden in de Opstand, de reisverslagen en historische werken én foto’s van commerciële fotografen als Bourne. Circulerende beelden van het park in Cawnpore vervulden zodoende een belangrijke rol in de Britse herinneringspolitiek. 12
Zijaanzicht van de engel, foto op frontispice van het werk, Indian Reminiscences van Colonel Samuel Dewé White, van 1845-1870 in het Bengaals leger. Collectie Rijksmuseum, inv.nr. RP-F-2001-7-422-1.
Stoffage
De aanleg van het park en de gedenkplaats met de engel werden bekostigd met de opbrengsten van een speciale belasting (circa 30,000 pond) die de gehele bevolking van Cawnpore was opgelegd, als collectieve straf voor het uitblijven van verzet tegen de opstandelingen. Indiërs dienden een speciale vergunning aan te vragen om het park te mogen betreden. Deze werd hoogst zelden verleend en ook dan bleef het voor hen verboden om het bouwwerk met de engel te betreden. 13
Samuel Bourne, herinneringspark Cawnpore met de gotische muur op de achtergrond (1865). Collectie Rijksmuseum, inv.nr. RP-F-F00615.
Gezien het toegangsverbod voor Indiërs mag het opmerkelijk heten dat Bourne op bovenstaande foto drie Indiase mannen in het park liet poseren. Wilcock vermoedt dat Bourne drie dagers voor de camera plaatste, op gepaste afstand van het monument. In zijn analyse van de foto stelt Wilcock dat de drie mannen niet vastgelegd zijn als individuen, maar als belichaming van de native ofwel ‘inlander’. Wilcock ziet een ambivalentie in de foto: van de mannen gaat niet de geringste dreiging uit. Hij hanteert de term stoffage, afkomstig uit de schilderkunst, om de positie van de Indiërs te omschrijven. De drie mannen geven een indruk van de schaal van het monument en verlevendigen het geheel. De staande houding van de man in het midden harmonieert met de slanke bomen die ordelijk in het park geplant zijn, de zittende mannen weerspiegelen elkaars houding. Het beeld van ‘potentiële rebellen’ werd hier verdrongen door Britse opvattingen over de passieve, ‘indolente Indiërs.’ 14
Professional magazine ‘Theatermaker’, May edition 2020.
The May edition of the Dutch professional magazine for the perfoming arts ‘Theatermaker’, features my article ‘Gevangen in de beeldtaal. Afrikaanse mensvertoningen in Nederland’ (‘Locked up in the imagery. Human exhibitions of Africans in The Netherlands’). Kindly I would like to thank Floortje Bakkeren for initiating this opportunity, Simon van den Berg for his patience and constructive feedback and editor Katharina Veraart.
Delpher Kranten – De Telegraaf (09-03-1893)
Scramble for Africa
In 2009, Bert Sliggers, at the time curator of the Teylers Museum Haarlem, was the first to compose an overview of human exhibitions in The Netherlands. Using posters in city archives and reports in print media, he counted 34 human displays in 46 cities during the years 1825-1913. More than a decade after Sliggers’ publication, online databases allow for an expansion of Sliggers initial overview. Thus far I traced 68 human exhibitions in 366 Dutch cities in the period 1809-1951, mainly through advertisements and reports in the database Delpher. Almost half of the exhibited groups involved Africans, which is consistent with findings for human exhibitions worldwide. The peak of the human displays coincided exactly with the ‘Scramble for Africa’: between 1880 and 1914, the continent was colonized and divided among European powers.
Zoological garden
In Dutch newspapers the human exhibitions were announced as African villages and ‘ethnographic exhibitions’, implying a truthful representation and educative experience. However, these human exhibitions were first and foremost a construction based on European notions of Africa and therefore staged in minute detail. Stemming from social Darwinism was the persistent conviction that Africans were the most primitive humans on the evolutionary scale. They were perceived to be closer to the animal kingdom and, by extension, very far removed from the apex of human evolution: the Occidental ‘white race’. Consequently, zoological gardens were regarded as a most suitable environment for the exhibitions of Africans.
The zoological garden of The Hague was the location for human exhibitions. In 1889 Dutch journalists described the Angolese women and men that were exhibited by Louis Joseph Goddefroy as “charcoal black creatures with their ape- like movements”, the face of one of the women was compared to that of a gorilla, her baby son to an orangutan.
Roland de Bonaparte, ‘Village angolais”, un album de 36 phot. anthropologiques présenté à l’exposition universelle de 1889 à Paris’, Bibliothèque nationale de France, id.no. , SGE SG WE-330. Lupaca, 10 years old, was property of the Portuguese slave owner De Braga in Angola. Goddefroy traded the boy against a British Bull Dog revolver. Lupaca suffered from hunger edema.
Agency
Some of the people that were exhibited by Goddefroy were serviçais : the property of Portuguese slaveholders. In his memoirs, Goddefroy recounted he bought one of the men after he was imprisoned after he tried to escape. The Angolese exemplify one end of the spectrum: people who were forced, sometimes after kidnapping, to be displayed.
The other end of the spectrum comprises Africans who willingly chose to take part in the exhibitions. A case in point is Sam Emanuels from Sierra Leone. Since 1902 he was a member of the group ‘Mandigo Warriors’, Amsterdam was part of their tour in 1909. Anne Dreesbach mentions in her dissertation that Emanuel became an organizer of human exhibitions himself. He defined himself as a professional actor and impresario for ‘ethnic villages’ and seemed to have created agency and opportunities for himself and the men, women, and children in his group. Nevertheless, I argue this agency was limited since Emanuel remained chained to deeply rooted European perceptions of Africans as inferior.
Bill , design and print Adolph Friedländer (1905), Theatre Collection Allard Pierson Museum. id.nr. TEY0010000808
As can be seen on the poster for Emanuels’ show. the women wear costumes with uncovered arms and open neck; markers of unrestrained sexuality. The woman in the foreground smiles seductively at the viewer. Moreover, she carelessly holds a spear in her hands, while young children learn to handle the weapons. The combat scenes, ‘martial exercises’ and ‘sacrificial dances’ in the human exhibitions arose from ideas about the innate compulsion to brutality of Africans.
Circus
Bill, design Potter, print Paul Grasnick, Hans Stosch-Sarrasani (ca. 1920-1930), Theatre Collection Allard Pierson Museum. id.nr.TEY0010004288.
The overview of Sliggers ended with the First World War, but in the 1920s elements of human exhibitions remained ingrained in popular culture. A poster from the Theatre Collection of the Allard Pierson Museum shows Hans Stosch-Sarrasani, a legend in the circus world. He is portrayed in the costume in which he, seated on an elephant, made a grand entrance into the arena. The turban, glittering jewellery and the decorations adorning his chest seem to be expressions of the exuberant imagination that made a visit to his circus such a colourful experience. German historians offer a different perspective. They interpret the inclusion of elements of human exhibitions in circus acts as a ‘colonial fantasy’.
Cultural historian Marline Otte (1999) states that Sarrasani dressed as a maharaja because he considered himself the enlightened ruler of a circus empire of native Americans, Arabs and Bedouins, Ethiopians, Indians, Chinese and Japanese. The cultural stereotypes from the human exhibitions thus became interwoven with an ideology based on racial superiority.
Deutsche Afrika-Schau
Dutch collections contain photographs of the 1930 Dutch tour of ‘Capitain’ Alfred Scheider and ‘Dawudu’s’, a prelude to the interweaving of the core ideas of human exhibitions with national socialism.
Schneider is still renowned for his lion acts, but since 1921 he was organizing human exhibitions, known in Germany as Völkerschauen. In 1930, the so-called ‘Dawudu’s’ were men who had served in the German military in the former African colonies, African-American Clarence Walton, and women of mixed Afro-German descent. His experience with Völkerschauen made Schneider, an early member of the NSDAP, eligible to briefly become the leader of the Deutsche Afrika-Schau in late 1936. The Deutsche Afrika-Schau was founded around 1934 by Afro-Germans to protect themselves against overt hostilities and racism after the NSDAP came to power.
According to historian Susann Lewerenz (2006), some of the Afro-Germans had worked in theatres and the variety circuit. Initially, they performed cabaret, acrobatics, and vocals in the Afrika-Schau from their own repertoire. Schneider removed their own artistic repertoire and situated the Schau in the familiar setting of an African village: on the one hand to portray perceptions of inferiority, and on the other as propaganda for German colonialism. The photographs in Dutch collections have not yet been included in publications about the Deutsche Afrika -Schau and are thus a visual source of the history of this specific human exhibition.
Sources
Dreesbach, Anne, Gezähmte Wilde: die Zurschaustellung ‘exotischer’ Menschen in Duitschland, 1870 – 1940 (Frankfurt 2005).
Lewerenz, Susann , Die Deutsche Afrika-Schau (1935–1940). Rassismus, Kolonialrevisionismus und postkoloniale Auseinandersetzungen im nationalsozialistischen Deutschland, (Frankfurt am Main 2006).
Otte, Marline, ‘Sarrasani’s Theatre of the World: Monumental Circus Entertainment in Dresden, from Kaiserreich to Third Reich’, German History 17/ 4 (1999), 527 – 542.
Thode-Arora, Hilke, ‘From Samoa with love? Colonial power displays, commodities and state presents – contextualizing and exhibiting the Samoa collection in the Fünf Kontinente Museum, Munich’, in: Deutschen Museumsbund (ed.) Museumskunde band 81 1/16 (2016) 28-34.
Winkler, Dietmar, “Kapitän” Alfred Schneider : ein Sachse unter 100 Löwen : eine dokumentarische Biografie (Gransee 2014).
This blog post is inspired by the Menaka Archive. Launched in November 2019, the archive presents the findings of four years of research into the European tour of the Indian ‘Menaka Ballet’ from 1936-1938. The Menaka Archive has a very rich database, including primary sources and a meticulous list of tour dates. Whilst the website is aimed at dancers and musicians in Germany and India, I attempt to make a small contribution by using Delpher – the Dutch database for digitized books, newspapers, and magazines. I will focus on Menaka’s first Dutch performances in 1931.
Marthe Gérardin , Nilkanta en Menaka, drawing, De Tijd ( 05-04-1931).
In the French database ‘Retronews’ the first European performance I could find was on November 7, 1930 in the Salle Pleyel, Paris. Menaka was accompanied by her dance partner Nilkanta and singer Bina Addy. 1 In March several Dutch newspaper reported that Menaka was ‘persuaded’ to perform in The Netherlands after successful shows in Paris and Berlin. 2
18 March 1931
Amsterdam
Stadsschouwburg
23 March 1931
Haarlem
Stadsschouwburg
24 March 1931
The Hague
Diligentia
8 April 1931
The Hague
Diligentia
5 & 6 June 1932
The Hague
Dutch Indies Exhibition
1931-1932 Menaka in The Netherlands, based on announcements in Delpher.
Menaka and Nilkanta arrive at Amsterdam Central Station, Nieuwe Apeldoornsche Courant (17-03-1931).
Reporters of two national newspapers, De Telegraaf3 and De Tijd, 4 interviewed Menaka and Nilkanta. Both journalists quoted Menaka when she shared her views on the state of dance in her home county. Her remarks can be examined in the wider context of fundamental shifts in Indian dance, during the 1920s-1930s.
Menaka and Nilkanta, Haagsche Courant (25-03-1931).
‘Uncivilized demeanour’
Menaka: […] In India dance is at a very low level. The same dances are performed in the temple and general gatherings, but the performers are women of uncivilised demeanour. There is no difference between general dances and religious dances, the dances in the temple are not religious. […]5
Menaka , the stage name of Leila Sokhey (née Roy) hailed from Calcutta, where she belonged to a Brahmin family. As a child, she saw many performances of professional dancers 6, in the above quote she referred to them as ‘uncivilized’. Until the twentieth century, dancers in India belonged to specific, artistic communities. Women of these communities received extensive training in dance, literature, music, and singing from childhood onwards. In North India the professional artistes were attached to predominantly Muslim courts, with cities like Lucknow and Jaipur, among others, as reputable artistic centres.
Dancers in the palace quarters, (1790-1810). Collection Rijksmuseum, id.nr. RP-T-1993-246. Rajasthan in North India was ruled by Hindu Rajputs, but they were influenced by the Indo-Persian culture of the Mughal imperial court. In this drawing the dancer at a Rajasthani court has her feet turned out and knees bend, around her ankles she wears noopur or dancing bells.
The British Raj (1858-1949), or direct rule in India, disempowered local kingdoms. A significant number of dancers and musicians across North India left regional courts and migrated to the city Calcutta, the new administrative capital. Here the art of the hereditary dancers became reliant on the patronage of men from the wealthy, upper-classes. 7 Menaka’s negative appraisal of the dance artistes reflects the sentiment of the anti-nautch movement that spanned from the early 1890s to the 1930s. ‘Nautch’, is an Anglicized form of the Hindi word for dance, naach. There is a large body of literature that is concerned with the anti-nautch movement and the subsequent transformation of dance.8 Amrit Srinivasan was one of the first to discuss this campaign against hereditary dancers in the context of social reform movements of the late nineteenth century.
Abbas Ali, Ameer Jan, dancing girl of Biba Wali, The Beauties of Lucknow Consisting of Twenty-Four Selected Photographed Portraits, Cabinet Size, of the most Celebrated and Popular Living Histrionic Singers, Dancing Girls, and Actresses of the Oudh Court and of Lucknow, (Calcutta 1874) Collection Victoria and Albert Museum, id.nr. IS.1050-1883.
Pressure groups, associations and lobbies of educated Hindus served in that period as a platform to respond to critiques brought forward by British missionaries and legislators. In doing so, Hindu reformers defined the hereditary dancers in Victorian terms. 9 Compared to other women, dancers possessed a degree of agency: they were very well versed in the arts, literate, and had non-marital relationships with men: their patrons from the upper strata of society. Due to these non-conjugal, sexual relationships hereditary dancers were criminalized as morally inferior ‘prostitutes’. 10
Menaka in the dance Bhakti Bhava, depicting a Hindu widow who seeks refuge in devotion, De Telegraaf (20-03-1931).
Displacement
As a result of complex changes in the moral, political and judicial realm, the hereditary artistes were removed from the dance and replaced by women from the upper castes, deemed worthy to perform the art. 11
Menaka broached this subject in the interviews: […] When Pavlova 12 saw me dance in my family circle, where I often danced, she said to me: “why don’t you dance and do something with your life. You can be of value for your people.” This entailed grave difficulties before I could even begin, I had to convince my husband, then my family and eventually all people from my caste. In 1927 I gave my first dance recital in Bombay, to a shocked and indignant audience. However, the second time I received much approval and I received many letters from girls of my class who wished to receive formal dance training.[…] 13
While recognizing the manifold factors that contributed to the displacement of hereditary dancers from the art, Natarajan mentions the personal interest of Brahmin women like Menaka who took to dancing. In their struggle to overcome caste barriers, their priority was legitimizing their own public appearances. The plight of the hereditary dancers, or seeking avenues where they could pursue their profession, was hardly a concern. 14
Studio Boris Lipnitzki, Menaka und Nilkanta, Der Künstlerische Tanz unserer Zeit (Dresden 1933), nr 233, p.41.
‘Priestess of dance’
[…] Meanwhile she chatters about famous Indians like Tagore and Gandhi. She tells us how she as well is bothered by the fact that India isn’t purely Eastern anymore. Despite her European orientation […] she wants to devote herself with all her might to save the pure Indian dance. […] “Menaka was the priestess of the all-knowing deity Indra, I want to be the priestess of Hindu dance”. […] 15
Leila Sokhey was born into the so-called bhadralok¸ the upper and middle classes of Bengal who articulated a sense of nationalism., with members of the Tagore family as preeminent intellectuals. Their nationalist construction of the Indian identity revolved around a distinct Hindu spirituality, which was embedded in ancient traditions and scriptures. While hereditary dancers were considered degraded, the art itself was conceived of as a sacred heritage, an embodiment of devotion, untouched by Islamic or European culture. 16
Menaka, Algemeen Handelsblad (18-03-1931).
[…] What I mean with my movement for dance in India is a reconstruction of the ancient dance. For this I have found material with teachers who have taught dance from generation upon generation. However, they taught only in the technical sense; the spirit was completely lost. […]17
In this quote Menaka makes it clear her teachers were the men from the hereditary artist communities. Although masters of music and movement, they did not embody the ‘pure’ dance:. […] I had to start from scratch. […] One sees in statues and reliefs that ancient Hindus must have had an extraordinary technique. […] I do think Balinese dance embodies Hindu dance in its purest form. […]18
Vereenigde Fotobureaux, Menaka and Nilkanta perform during the Indische Tentoonstelling, Westbroekpark The Hague, 1932. Collection Haags Stadsarchief, id.nr. 1.03714.
The performance in The Hague in March was tremendously successful, Menaka and Nilkanta were invited again to the theatre for one evening in April 1931. In 1932 they performed two days during the ‘Indische Tentoonstelling’, a colonial exhibition in The Hague. According to newspaper Het Vaderland the dance couple was preparing their journey to India, since Nilkanta had to return because of family circumstances. Despite the fact that the Dutch Indies were the focal point of the exhibition, Het Vaderland mentioned Menaka and Nilkanta agreed to end their European performance here because of the ‘Indian atmosphere.’ 19 In 1936 Menaka would return to The Netherlands for a far more extensive tour.
Panghat Nritya
Dance on the shore of the river Jamuna
Ushas
Dance of the goddess of dawn
Ranga Lila
Dance of spring
Yuddha Vidaya
The wife of the warrior
Bhakti Bhava
Dance of devotion
Naga Kanya
Dance of the snake maiden
Lakshmi Darshan
Birth of the goddess Lakshmi
Amaravati Nritya
The Buddhist sculptures of Amaravati
Gramya Goshthi
The well of the village
Tarana Usshaq
Mongolian serenade
Dances performed in 1931, Source: Het Vaderland (16-03-1931 and 19-03-31).
Several museums hold photographs in their collection that combine elements that figured prominently in the British colonial imagination of India: Kashmir and dancing women.
Lalla Rookh
When Irish poet Thomas Moore published his ‘Oriental Romance’ Lalla Rookh in 1817, it became an instant bestseller. Moore’s main character was the fictional daughter of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb (1618-1707), her name translates as ‘tulip cheek’. She travels from the imperial court in Delhi to Kashmir, for her marriage to a young prince in the garden Shalimar (‘the abode of love’). Moore evoked an image of an idyllic Kashmir, with a scenery of otherworldly beauty.
The author never set foot in Kashmir. His ‘romance’ was based on an extensive library of travelogues, pictorial sources and scholarly treatises on India, Persia and Central-Asia. Nevertheless, Lalla Rookh moulded perceptions of later artists that visited India. In 1846 the East India Company (EIC) created the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir and sold the territory to ruler Gulab Singh. 1 As a princely state the area became accessible for travellers like the watercolourist William Carpenter (1818-1899). He travelled through India from 1850-1857 and made a series of paintings in Kashmir in the years 1854-1855. Using Lalla Rookh as a travel guide, he visited the landmarks in the city of Srinagar that Moore had extolled four decades earlier.2
William Carpenter, Two Natch girls, Kashmir (1854), Victoria and Albert Museum, item nr. S.157-1882
‘Two Natch girls’ of Carpenter contains elements that enabled the spectator to relate it to Kashmir. The two women are wearing white Kashmiri gowns, known as pheran. Usually, a lighter gown (poots), is worn underneath the pheran but Carpenter has omitted this, allowing to show more bare skin. One woman smokes a hookah, the other dreamily looks sideways. The flower in her hand could be a blooming tulip, as a reference to Lalla Rookh. Both women are framed within Mughal architecture: on one side the baluster column, on the other the stone window (jarokha), with a grand view of the mountainous landscape.
Nautch
‘Natch’, which Carpenter used in the title, and ‘nautch’ were Anglicised forms of the Hindi word naach¸ a neutral word for dance. Today, nautch is considered a problematic term. Barlas showed that women with widely diverse occupations and skills were called ‘nautch girl’. This encompassed highly trained poets, singers, and dancers who were attached to courts and temples, as well as women who earned a living as entertainers or prostitutes. Thus nautch was a false or even illusory category. 3 Nonetheless, some photographs in different collections seem to contain traces of a distinct art form that was subsumed in the category of nautch.
Samuel Bourne (1834–1912) is considered one of the most important photographers of colonial India, working in the second half of the nineteenth century. The majority of his work consists of landscapes and architectural splendours, while his images of Indian people are less numerous. 4 In 1863 he established the firm Bourne & Shepherd, by 1866 the catalogue included 600 different photographs, about a third of Kashmir. 5
Samuel Bourne, Natch girls of Srinugger, Cashmere (1860s), British Library, item.nr. 39416.
Bourne commented on his portrait of a group of ‘natch girls’: […]They were very shy at making their appearance in daylight, as, like the owl, they are birds of the night. […]They squatted themselves down on the carpet which had been provided for them, and absolutely refused to move an inch for any purpose of posing; so after trying in vain to get them into something like order, I was obliged to take them as they were, the picture, of course, being far from a good one. […] 6
left: Bourne & Shepherd, Kashmeer – A Natch (1864), Victoria and Albert Museum, id. nr. IS.7:50-1998. Two dancers in a semi-circle, one in a pose with her skirt, surrounded by musicians and spectators.
right: John Burke, Kashmir Dancers, Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz,id.nr. VIII C 600 b. One dancer holding her skirt, on the right a musician with a saaz-e-kashmir.
Although Bourne complained about the women’s unwillingness to pose, another photograph in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum shows a lively image. A group of men is sitting on a carpet, in their midst musicians; the rectangular santoor, the Kashmiri zither, is clearly discernable. Some spectators have turned their faces to the photographer, but the focus is on the two standing women in the middle of the semi-circle. The woman on the left holds the hem of her transparent skirt in her hand, creating movement while standing still. The group is surrounded by lush trees, it seems very likely Bourne made the photograph in a pavilion (baradari) of Shalimar Bagh in Srinagar, the garden of love where the fictional Lalla Rookh married.
Samuel Bourne, Natch House, Shalimar gardens, Srinugger (1860s) British Library, id. nr. 39419.
One of the competitors of Bourne’s firm was Baker & Burke. Like Bourne, founder John Burke took more than a hundred photographs in and around Srinagar. 7 In Burke’s group portrait five musicians are playing their instruments. On the left, a player of the santoor is sitting in front, next to him a man holds a sehtâr, a Kashmiri lute. On the right, behind the musician on the santoor, two men hold a saaz-e-kashmir, a local version of the viol.
Dancers and musicians, Baker and Burke, Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, id. nr. VIII C 1822
The combinations of these instruments strongly suggest this is an ensemble of Sufiana Kalam, considered by Kashmiris as their classical music. 8 Sufiana Kalam was performed in religious as well as secular gatherings (mehfil), where musicians sang the mystical poems of Persian Sufis. The music ensemble accompanied Hafiza Nagma, professional dancers who sang in Persian and Kashmiri and conveyed the meaning of the words through bodily movements, facial expressions, and hand gestures.9
Portraits by Bourne and Burke show that they were not concerned with the intricacies of a performing art. Instead, the commercial success of their works depended on exoticizing the ‘nautch girls’. Barlas argues this was achieved by the physical depiction of the women.10 In the painting as well as the photographs the white pheran, emphasize femininity (as perceived at that time). Carpenter paid much attention to the elaborate hair jewellery (matha patti), 11 and their nathni (nose ring) seems to glisten.
left: Dancers and musicians from Kashmir, John Burke, Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, id. nr. VIII C 1770. The musician in front plays the santur, behind him a man is holding a saaz-e-kashmir.
right: Francis Frith (Studio Frith´s Series, A Cashmerian Nautch girl, (ca. 1887), Rijksmuseum, id.nr. RP-F-F80347.
Another trope of exoticization is the woman who is performing in a public or private space. 12 To communicate the ‘nautch girl’ was actually dancing, photographers Bourne and Burke used the pose of a woman holding the hem of her skirt in her hand. Burke chose the pose of one hand at the back of the head. Photographers of the successful commercial company of Francis Frith repeated this same pose more than ten years later. 13
John Burke, Asisi, 22 years old, Kashmir Dancing girl, Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Objects, probably available in the photo studio, enforced the meaning of women reclining or lounging. In Burke’s group portrait of the ensemble, two women are smoking a hookah and within reach are two samovars, a Kashmiri speciality to boil, brew and serve tea. In the photograph of Asisi the samovar stands on a tray with teacups, an echo of the painting of Carpenter. Asisi has freed her feet from her shoes (khussa), and leans against a bolster (gao takia).
In combination with the reclining pose, the photograph suggests spectators are offered a view in the private quarters of the women, in India known as zenana. This suggestion is even stronger when several women are in the picture.
left: Francis Frith, Nautch Girl Cashmere (1850-1870), Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, id.nr. VIII C 1776.
right: John Burke, Kashmir dancers, Ethnologisches Museum der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin – Preußischer Kulturbesitz, id.nr. VIII C 600 a
Bourne, as well as Firth, made a composition with a woman seemingly alone in a room. She is reclining in a half-lying position, one side of the body supported by the bolster. She evokes sensuality and pleasure while transgressing Victorian morality. This perception would determine the fate of the dancers, singers and artists in the whole of India after 1890. Performing Hafiz Nagma was prohibited by the Kashmiri ruler in the early 1920s, the tradition is now all but lost.
left: Samuel Bourne, Cashmere Nautch Girl (1860s) British Library, id. nr. 70
right: Francis Firth (1850-1870),A Cashmerian Nautch Girl, Rijksmuseum, id.nr. RP-F-F80348
Links: Affiche Adolph Friedländer (1909), Circuscollectie Allard Pierson Museum, inv.nr. TEY0010002879. Rechts: Foto, gepubliceerd in Bühne und Sport 6/14 (1906), achterhaald door onderzoeker Rainer Lotz.
Over deze groep is weinig informatie te vinden. Onderzoeker Rainer Lotz is gespecialiseerd in Afro-Amerikaanse artiesten die aan het begin van de twintigste eeuw in Europa optraden. Hij stelt dat de ‘Four Black Diamonds’ afkomstig waren uit San Fansisco en rond 1905 naar Europa kwamen – het is niet duidelijk of dan wel wanneer zij terugkeerden naar de Verenigde Staten. Evenmin is met zekerheid vast te stellen welke artiesten deel uitmaakten van de groep, van hun persoonlijke levensloop is dan ook niets bekend. Op basis van advertenties en recensies concludeerde Lotz dat de groep groot succes had met liederen die waren gebaseerd op folklore uit de Alpen, die zij ten gehore brachten in zogeheten ‘lederhosen’. Lotz wist te achterhalen dat de groep in 1909, 1912 optrad in het Scala theater in Den Haag en in 1919 Amsterdam aandeed. 1 Uit Delpher blijkt dat zij vaker in Nederland hebben opgetreden. Het volgende lijstje geeft data weer waarop in een advertentie de ‘4 Black diamonds’ werden aangekondigd.
Lotz schrijft dat de groep gedurende de Eerste Wereldoorlog de optredens voortzette in het Verenigd Koninkrijk en rond 1922 uit elkaar ging, een datum die overeenkomt met hun laatste optreden in Nederland.
N.V. Eerste Nederlandse Witmetaalfabriek te Loosduinen, bronzen beeld, ca 1926 – 1969 . Twee rokende mannen met een verentooi en rok van tabaksbladeren, leunend tegen een vat dat gevuld is met tabaksbladeren . Collectie Liemers Museum, inv.nr. 07014-00.
Vanaf 1613 begonnen experimenten met de verbouw van tabak in Virginia, sinds 1607 de eerste Engelse kolonie in Noord-Amerika. Een luttele vijf jaar later werd er meer dan achttienduizend kilo tabak naar Engeland uitgevoerd.1 De teelt was uiterst bewerkelijk en vanaf 1618 werd dit bewerkstelligd door onvrije arbeid, aanvankelijk door mannen uit Engeland. Vanaf halverwege de zeventiende eeuw zagen landbouwers uit Wales en Engeland zich door het mislukken van oogsten genoodzaakt een contract aan te gaan dat hen verplichtte vier tot zeven jaar op de tabaksvelden te werken.2
Johannes van Oye, Tabaksvignet van papier, c. 1730-1760. Links een staande koopman. Een Afrikaanse vrouw biedt hem een bos tabaksbladeren aan. Voor haar zit een inheemse Amerikaan met pijp op een half geopende tabaksmand. Collectie Amsterdam Pipe Museum, inv.nr. APM 25.002
Van groter belang was de slavenarbeid. Engelse kolonisten kwamen in het bezit van inheemse Amerikanen door hen te ruilen tegen wapens. Deze ruilhandel werd bedreven met inheemse bevolkingsgroepen die zich bewapenden, mede om te voorkomen dat zij zelf tot slaaf gemaakt werden. Zodoende bereikten de Richahecrian en de rivaliserende Occaneechi een dominante positie die hen in staat stelden andere inheemse groeperingen te onderwerpen en verhandelen.3 Hoewel de prijzen fluctueerden, bleef de productie van tabak toenemen – wat mogelijk was door de trans-Atlantische slavenhandel. In de periode 1698-1774 werden naar schatting 80.000 tot 100.000 mensen uit Centraal- en West Afrika naar Virginia verscheept. 4
Links: houten beeld (1775). Jongen die een pijp rookt, draagt hoofdversiering van rood, wit en zwarte veren en een lendendoek. In zijn rechterhand heeft hij een bos tabaksbladeren, zijn linkerhand rust op een tabaksrol. 1775, Collectie Ottema-Kingma Stichting, inv.nr. NO 14562.
Rechts: Houten beeld, ca 1750 -1799. Donkere man gekleed in een witte tuniek en een geplooide roodgele rok. Hij draagt een tulband, halsdoek, met metaal beklede schoenen en opgerolde sokken. De linkerhand rust op een tabaksrol. Collectie Ottema-Kingma Stichting, inv.nr. NO 14561.
Tegen deze achtergrond zou het houten beeld uit de collectie van de Ottema-Kingma Stichting kunnen worden bekeken. In 1605 opende de eerste tabakswinkel in Londen, herkenbaar aan de uithangborden. Molineux liet in een uitgebreide studie van Britse vignetten en advertenties zien dat een hybride figuur ontstond, de black virginian waarin Turkse, Afrikaanse en inheems Amerikaanse elementen werden samengebracht. 5
Gravure (1617). Collectie British Museum, inv.nr. Gg,4U.13. Links de toonbank met daarop de rokende virginian.
De eerste afbeelding van een black virginian is te zien in het boek ‘The smoaking age or the life and death of tobacco‘ (1617). Het frontispice is een weergave van het interieur van een tabakswinkel. Op de toonbank is een kleine, donkere figuur te zien; hij rookt een pijp, houdt een tabaksrol onder zijn linkerarm en aan zijn voeten liggen kleipijpen. In Engelse havensteden waren houtsnijders die zich specialiseerden in het vervaardigden van boegbeelden en sierlijk bewerkte achterstevens. De houten virginians in tabakswinkels, koffiehuizen en tavernes zijn mogelijk van hun hand afkomstig. 6 Gedurende de zeventiende eeuw verspreidde de figuur zich in het Engelse straatbeeld: eigenaren van tabakswinkels lieten visitekaartjes, kwitanties en verpakkingsmateriaal ontwerpen waarop de virginian te zien was 7 Vanaf de achttiende eeuw werd de figuur ook afgebeeld op tabakszakjes, vignetten en advertenties in Nederland. 8
Papieren sigarenzakje ‘De Wilde man’,ca.1884 – 1890. Links een donkere man met verentooi en rok van tabaksbladeren, op de rug een pijlenkoker, gewapend met knots en lans. Collectie Amsterdam Pipe Museum, inv.nr. APM 26.018b
