Exhibition of Dahomean Amazons in Moscow in 1901: Between Colonial Arrogance and Provincial Vanity

The article deals with the history of the exhibiting of the “Dahomean Amazons” in Moscow in April—May 1901. Existing research about this exhibition is critically analyzed. On the basis of scientific and popular literature published in Russia at the end of the 19th century, the stereotypical image of the Dahomean Amazons is reconstructed, in which, however, variability is found. The French model of their description stands out, in which the emphasis is on the barbaric cruelty of the Dahomeans, as well as the German one, in which more attention is paid to their courage, militancy, and piety. There are also differences in the interpretation of the erotic attractiveness of the Amazons. Then it is investigated to what extent these stereotypical ideas were involved during the tour of the Dahomey Amazons in Moscow. It was found that the troupe came from Germany and the program of their performances corresponded to the German model, which created more opportunities for empathy towards the people on display. At the same time, for the perception of the exhibition, it was also important that the Dahomey Amazons were shown at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1900, and the Moscow tour, as it were, made it possible to become involved in this event. The significance of the Moscow show of the Amazons turned out to be twofold: it combined cultural arrogance towards less developed Africans with provincial admiration for a spectacle brought from the center of Europe.

Keywords

ethnic exhibitions, human zoos, Dahomey, Moscow, Zoological Garden, Africa, Russia, stereotypes, colonial culture

Acknowledgment

This research was funded by the Russian Science Foundation, project № 20-18-00482.

Received

11.05.2022

Publication date

07.11.2022

Number of characters

48459

Cite

GOST	Savitskiy E. Exhibition of “Dahomean Amazons” in Moscow in 1901: Between Colonial Arrogance and Provincial Vanity // ISTORIYA – 2022. – V. 13. – Issue 9 (119) [Electronic resource]. URL: https://history.jes.su/S207987840022915-5-1 (circulation date: 18.05.2024). DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022915-5
MLA	Savitskiy, Evgeniy "Exhibition of “Dahomean Amazons” in Moscow in 1901: Between Colonial Arrogance and Provincial Vanity." ISTORIYA 13.9 (119) (2022) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022915-5
APA	Savitskiy E. (2022). Exhibition of “Dahomean Amazons” in Moscow in 1901: Between Colonial Arrogance and Provincial Vanity. ISTORIYA 13(9 (119)) DOI: 10.18254/S207987840022915-5

100 rub.

When subscribing to an article or issue, the user can download PDF, evaluate the publication or contact the author. Need to register.

Number of purchasers: 0, views: 225

Readers community rating: votes 0

1. Amfiteatrov A. V. Kurortnyj muzh // Amfiteatrov A. V. Stolichnaya bezdna: Ehtyudy, listki, tipy i kartinki. SPb.: T-vo I. P. Taburno i Ko, 1900. S. 287—303.

2. V Parizh na vystavku: Putevoditel' po Zapadnoj Evrope, Parizhu i Vsemirnoj vystavke 1900 goda / cost. A. P. Nenashev. M.: Tipo-lit. t-va V. Chicherina, 1900. XVI.

3. Vern Zh. Vozdushnyj korabl' / per. E. Kiseleva. M.: Tip. I. D. Sytina, 1892.

4. Gel'val'd F. Estestvennaya istoriya plemen i narodov. V 2 tt. T. 2. SPb.: A. S. Suvorin, 1883. III.

5. Masanov I. F. Slovar' psevdonimov russkikh pisatelej, uchenykh i obschestvennykh deyatelej. V 4 t. T. 2. M.: Izd-vo Vsesoyuzn. knizhnoj palaty, 1957.

6. Minchenkov Ya. D. Vospominaniya o peredvizhnikakh. 6-e izd. M.: Khudozhnik RSFSR, 1980.

7. Mirzekhanov V. The Supremacy Idea and Racial Hierarchy in the French Colonial Culture // ISTORIYA. 2014. Vol. 5. Is. 4 (27). URL: https://history.jes.su/s207987840000720-1-1/

8. Nemirovich-Danchenko V. I. Na raznykh dorogakh. Roman v 4 ch. SPb.: A. S. Suvorin, 1896.

9. Orlov M. A. Vsemirnaya parizhskaya vystavka 1900 g. v illyustratsiyakh i opisaniyakh. SPb.: Tip. br. Panteleevykh, 1900.

10. Pazukhin A. M. (Komar). Pereselenie dagomejtsev (nechto afrikanskoe) // Moskovskij listok. 1901. 12 aprelya. № 101. S. 2.

11. Pasternak B. L. Okhrannaya gramota // Pasternak B. L. Sobr. soch. v 5 tt. T. 4. M.: Khud. lit. 1991. S. 149—239.

12. Pasternak E. B. Boris Pasternak. Biografiya. M.: Tsitadel', 1997.

13. Reklyu Zh. Zh. Eh. Zemlya i lyudi. Vseobschaya geografiya. T. 12. Vostochnaya Afrika. Atlanticheskie arkhipelagi. Senegambiya i Vostochnyj Sudan. SPb.: Izdanie kartograficheskogo zavedeniya A. Il'ina, 1893.

14. Ryabova S. A. Uveselitel'nye sady v sotsiokul'turnom prostranstve gorodov Rossii v kontse XIX — nachale KhKh veka. Diss. na soiskanie uchenoj stepeni kand. istor. nauk. M., 2016.

15. Savitskij E. E. Ehtnicheskie vystavki kontsa XIX — nachala KhKh vv. i problemy ikh istoriograficheskogo osmysleniya // Vseobschaya istoriya i istoricheskaya nauka v KhKh — nachale XXI veka. Sb. st. / otv. red. G. P. Myagkov, E. A. Chiglintsev. V 2 t. T. 1. Kazan': KFU, 2020. S. 137—140.

16. Spenser G. Osnovaniya sotsiologii. V 2 tt. T. 1. SPb.: Izd. I. I. Bilibina, 1876. II.

17. Ul'yanova G. N. Dosug i razvlecheniya. Zarozhdenie massovoj kul'tury // Ocherki istorii russkoj kul'tury. Konets XIX — nachalo KhKh v. / gl. red. L. V. Koshman. T. 1. Obschestvenno-kul'turnaya sreda. M.: Izd-vo MGU, 2011. S. 455—526.

18. Ehngel'gardt M. A. Progress kak ehvolyutsiya zhestokosti. SPb.: F. Pavlenkov, 1899. IV.

19. Armbruster M. “Völkerschauen” um 1900 in Freiburg i. Br. — Kolonialer Exotismus im historischen Kontext. Freiburg, 2011.

20. Brändle R. Nayo Bruce. Geschichte einer afrikanischen Familie in Europa. Zürich: Chronos, 2007.

21. Czarnecka D. Black Female Bodies and the “White” View: The Dahomey Amazon Shows in Poland at the End of the Nineteenth Century // East Central Europe. 2020. № 47. P. 285—312.

22. Exhibitions. L’invention du sauvage / L. Thuram, P. Blanchard, N. J. Snoep. P.: Actes Sud, 2011.

23. Novikova I. Imagining Africa and Blackness in the Russian Empire: From Extra-Textual “Arapka” and Distant Cannibals to Dahomey Amazon Shows — live in Moscow and Riga // Social Identities. Journal for the Study of Race, Nation and Culture. 2013. Vol. 19. No. 5. P. 571—591.

24. Wolter S. Die Vermarktung des Fremden. Exotismus und die Anfänge des Massenkonsums. Frankfurt: Campus, 2015.