The Negro of Banyoles ( ca, negre de Banyoles, es, link=no, negro de Banyoles or ) was a controversial piece of

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proc ...

of a San individual, which used to be a major attraction in the Darder Museum of

Banyoles Banyoles () is a city of 20,168 inhabitants (2021) located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain. The town is the capital of the Catalan ''comarca'' " Pla de l'Estany". Although an established industrial centre many of th ...

(

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, Spain). In 2000, the remains of the man were sent to

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalaha ...

for burial.

History

In 1830, the Verreaux brothers stuffed the corpse of a member of the San, analysis of the teeth showed that man was approximately 27 years old, having features typical of the African bushman. In 1916, it was acquired by the Darder Museum of

. The body remained in the museum without controversy until 29 October 1991. At this date Alphonse Arcelin, a doctor of Haitian origin
Remains disappoint many
'', 6 October 2000,

BOPA BOPA ( da, Borgerlige Partisaner, Civil Partisans) was a group of the Danish resistance movement; it was affiliated with the communists and developed after the occupation of Denmark by Nazi Germany during the Second World War. In 1942, the Commu ...

Daily News. who lived in

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where he was a PSC councillor,«Lo trataron como a un antílope»
''El Mundo'', 4 October 2000. wrote a letter to the mayor of Banyoles, Joan Solana, asking him to stop displaying the San's remains. This request attracted the attention of the press, which widely published the story. The first step towards the return of the "''negre''" to Botswana was made in 1991, when the then-secretary of

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

, Federico Mayor Zaragoza, held the meeting with Joan Solana. Later, when

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (; 8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founde ...

became

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the United Nations, he expressed interest in the issue and spoke with Solana. By that time, the "''negre''" had become so notorious that it was quite usual to hear references made to the displayed San in diplomatic communications. Some African governments showed their support for Arcelín, who had sent several letters to the press and various heads of government. The issue worried many international museum associations because it made them fear that human remains kept in museums might have to be returned to their place of origin. In 1997, the issue was repeatedly discussed by both the UN and the

Organisation of African Unity The Organisation of African Unity (OAU; french: Organisation de l'unité africaine, OUA) was an intergovernmental organization established on 25 May 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, with 32 signatory governments. One of the main heads for OAU's ...

. Later, in March of that year, the body was removed from the Darder Museum. It was described in '' El Mundo'' as a relic of colonialism. Many people in Banyoles and the surrounding area were unhappy with the removal because the San was seen as "a member of the community".

Return to Africa

's government offered to aid the OAU bury the man, once all of his remains were returned to Africa. In 2000, after the loincloth, feathered head-dress and spear he had worn in Banyoles were removed, the body was sent to the National Museum of Anthropology in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

where artificial parts including a wooden spine, eyes, hair, and genitals were removed. The skull and remaining bones were then sent to Botswana in a coffin and they arrived on 4 October. He was buried on 5 October in Tsholofelo Park, in

Gaborone Gaborone ( , , ) is the capital and largest city of Botswana with a population of 246,325 based on the 2022 census, about 10% of the total population of Botswana. Its agglomeration is home to 421,907 inhabitants at the 2011 census. Gaboron ...

;The Dead and Their Possessions: Repatriation in Principle, Policy and Practice
edited by Cressida Fforde, Jane Hubert, and Paul Turnbull; chapter 20: ''Missing persons and stolen bodies: the repatriation of 'El Negro' to Botswana''; by Neil Parsons and Alinah Kelo Segobye; published 2004, by

Psychology Press Taylor & Francis Group is an international company originating in England that publishes books and academic journals. Its parts include Taylor & Francis, Routledge, F1000 Research or Dovepress. It is a division of Informa plc, a United Ki ...

his gravesite was declared a national monument.

Legacy

The Darder Museum currently avoids any references to the controversy of the "negre of Banyoles". The only record of the San in the museum is a silent video with black and white images on a small plasma screen. The video allows people to see the San as he was displayed until his removal. Several books have dealt with the "''el negre''" controversy, most notably ''El Negro en ik'' (El Negro and me) by Frank Westerman, which shows that naturalist Georges Cuvier knew about the man.

Bibliography

* Davies, Caitlin: The Return of El Negro. Johannesburg: Penguin Books 2003. * Fock, Stefanie: »Un individu de raça negroide«. El Negro und die Wunderkammern des Rassismus. In: Entfremdete Körper. Rassismus als Leichenschändung, ed. Wulf D. Hund. Bielefeld: transcript 2009, pp. 165 – 204. * Westermann, Frank: El Negro en ik. Amsterdam: Atlas 2004.

References

{{reflist

External links

Sample translation of El Negro and Me
Human taxidermy 1830s deaths Province of Girona Pla de l'Estany 2000 in Botswana Year of birth missing San people Racism in Spain