Somali group at The Crystal Palace in 1895

The 1895 African Exhibition at

The Crystal Palace The Crystal Palace was a cast iron and plate glass structure, originally built in Hyde Park, London, to house the Great Exhibition of 1851. The exhibition took place from 1 May to 15 October 1851, and more than 14,000 exhibitors from around ...

was an instance of a

human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were a colonial practice of publicly displaying people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays of ...

in London. The

colonial exhibition A colonial exhibition was a type of World's fair, international exhibition that was held to boost trade. During the 1880s and beyond, colonial exhibitions had the additional aim of bolstering popular support for the various colonial ...

presented around eighty people brought from

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

along with two-hundred African animals.

History

The exhibition was organised by

Carl Hagenbeck Carl Hagenbeck (10 June 1844 – 14 April 1913) was a Germans, German merchant of wild animals who supplied many European zoos, as well as P. T. Barnum. He created the modern zoo with animal enclosures without bars that were closer to their natur ...

and Josef Menges as an effort to rehabilitate the Crystal Palace which was becoming less popular among visitors.

Display

The

Somalis The Somali people (, Wadaad's writing, Wadaad: , Arabic: ) are a Cushitic peoples, Cushitic ethnic group and nation native to the Somali Peninsula. who share a common ancestry, culture and history. The Lowland East Cushitic languages, East ...

were brought from

Berbera Berbera (; , ) is the capital of the Sahil, Somaliland, Sahil region of Somaliland and is the main sea port of the country, located approximately 160 km from the national capital, Hargeisa. Berbera is a coastal city and was the former capital of t ...

, Somaliland.{{Cite web, title=Victorian London - Entertainment and Recreation - Exhibitions - The African Exhibition, url=https://www.victorianlondon.org/entertainment2/africanexhibition.htm, access-date=2022-01-29, website=www.victorianlondon.org The "exhibits" at the human zoo spent their time in a

kraal Kraal (also spelled ''craal'' or ''kraul'') is an Afrikaans and Dutch language, Dutch word, also used in South African English, for an pen (enclosure), enclosure for cattle or other livestock, located within a Southern African Human settlement ...

but slept in covered buildings due to the cold weather. They were wearing exotic animal skins and had red mud in their hair. During the exhibition, they had to perform national sports and dances multiple times a day, set up and take down of their accommodation and cook food. The people also had to mimic "warfare" where different tribes attack each other until Europeans arrive to end the conflict. The display included large paintings and set pieces representing Somalia. These served as a backdrop when all the people and the animals formed a "caravan" and passed through the space. File:Somali village at the 1895 African Exhibition.jpg, Somali village at the 1895 African Exhibition File:Somali people at the 1895 African Exhibition.jpg, Somali people at the 1895 African Exhibition

References

External links

1895 African Exhibition at the Crystal Palace
on the website Human Zoos Crystal Palace, London Colonial exhibitions