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Through a Clouded Mirror: Africa at the Pan American Exposition, Buffalo 1901
Darkest Africa: The Village and the Museum Africans lived, worked, and performed for the fair’s visitors in the African Village, the main part of Darkest Africa. A Museum also displayed artifacts and natural history specimens from Africa. Items such as coffee, baobab salve (a patent medicine guaranteed to cure a remarkable range of ailments), ivory carvings, and gold jewelry were also sold in "Darkest Africa". Similar villages were mainstays of World’s Fairs in America and Europe from the 1890s to the 1930s. The Africans Arrive! Although the Pan-American Exposition opened to the public on May 1, 1901, the African Villagers did not arrive until June 10th. Upon arrival, they built their own houses, using materials imported from Africa. “Darkest Africa” finally opened to the public on June 21st and ran until November 1st, 1901.
This drum, or one quite like it, is being carried and played in the entrance parade. The lion carved on its side is one of the heraldic emblems of Gelélé, King of Dahomey from 1858-1889. This image is also found on the handle of an iron gubasa sword suggesting that these objects came from one of the royal sites in the Kingdom of Dahomey. Dahomey was conquered by the French in 1894, just seven years before the Pan-American Exposition, which may explain how these royal objects found their way into the hands of Xavier Péne and the African Village.
This bell, or a very similar one, is being played by one of the African Villagers in their entrance parade. Such bells, of different sizes, were held along the arm and were struck with a mallet to produce a rhythmic range of sounds to accompany chants and songs. The Village The most popular part of Darkest Africa was the African Village. The village included palm leaf-covered houses – where the African villagers lived and worked, a stage and open plazas – where performances took place, workshops – where African craftsmen made and sold their wares, and cages – where African animals were displayed. We still have a lot to learn about the African Village. We know where it was located in the Pan-Am, but not how the Village itself was laid out. No known architectural plans show the final layout of the houses, shops, and performance spaces in the African Village. Photographic images help in the reconstruction of the actual layout and appearance of the “village” itself. The approximate location of the African Village was on the west end of Great Arrow Drive, between Elmwood Avenue and Delaware Road.
Real Life in a Real African Village?
Living Conditions
Documents from the Pan-Am suggest that the African Villagers rarely left “Darkest Africa” during the five months they were in Buffalo. This raises important questions about hygiene and the living conditions these people experienced. Xavier Péne’s concession required him to spend at least $7,500 in construction costs. He had to wire the village for electricity and provide adequate plumbing for fresh water and sewerage. The official report on health and hygiene at the Pan-Am reported no outbreaks of disease in “Darkest Africa” but complained that it took some time to get the African Villagers to accept the hygiene facilities provided for them. Eventually signs about hygiene were posted in several languages and no further problems were noted.
Life and Death in the Village According to the final report on hygiene and health at the Pan-Am, only four people died in the whole fair during its 6-month run. One of these recorded deaths happened in “Darkest Africa.” This was the sad death of a stillborn infant, who was delivered 2-3 months prematurely to a woman in the African Village. There also exist other published accounts. One such report in the newspapers of the time recounts the most unpleasant story associated with the African Village. This is the story of Tomasso Quayeo’s young son who became gravely ill and died on the way to the Pan-Am’s hospital. According to the article, ambulance drivers dumped the African boy’s body into a trashcan instead of caring for it. Later investigators recovered the boy's body for burial, but the family left Buffalo grieving and without justice served. One of these stories suggests a truly horrible racist act, or, at best, criminal neglect. The other story, recorded in the official report of the Pan-Am’s hospital, suggests a personal tragedy with natural origins. Why are we willing to believe one story over the other? How can we decide which is true? Why would the death of Tomasso Quayeo's son go unrecorded if the newspaper report is accurate? Melting Pot The village was said to be home for people from as many as eleven different African cultures, from distant parts of West Africa. How did they cope with their own cultural differences? The extent to which these peoples interacted or remained segregated is unknown. Throughout the course of these pages the evidence in the documentary and photographic records suggest that the Villagers socialized and worked together. In addition, photographs show individuals with artifacts from different cultures and regions. Finding the answers may require a combination of approaches including archival research, photographic interpretation, oral histories, and even archaeological excavations at the present day site of the African Village.
Darkest Africa’s Museum
The brochure, Darkest Africa, Real African Life in a Real African Village, describes the Museum as follows... "Containing the finest collection of weapons, implements, musical instruments, idols and curios ever brought from Africa. (NOTE:- This collection becomes the property of the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences at the close of the Exposition.) The museum should be visited after having seen the native life in the villages and native dances in the Hall and Theatre. An archaeologist of national reputation, who was present when the curios exhibited in the museum were being unpacked, gave it as his opinion that the collection was of extraordinary interest. Its selection is the highest compliment that could be paid to the archaeological acumen of Mons. Xavier Pene. There is something here of interest to everyone. It is a place to see visions and dream dreams. Visitors are invited to examine the work of the native craftsmen, some of whose productions may be purchased at a reasonable price. The curios in the museum are not for sale, but souvenirs of the African village may be bought at the booths about the grounds. Photograph by Carlos E. Cummings, Collections of the Buffalo Museum of Science It is particularly requested that visitors refrain from handling the curios in the museum. It has been the endeavor to place the weapons out of reach, because many of them are poisoned and deadly. It is hoped that the request of the management not to handle these or other curios will be courteously borne in mind by all.”
This carved hippopotamus tusk was displayed in the African Museum at the Pan-Am. A description of the tusk in Darkest Africa’s brochure suggests how it was interpreted: “In the museum for example, is a tusk carved with a long procession of women winding round and round spirally from base to tip. It looks like an ordinary piece of native carving, having a purely decorative purpose. As a matter of fact it is a sort of family tree. The carver of this tusk added a new figure every time he took a new wife. The array of women presented in the carving will not seem an extravagant number when it is remembered that Chief Ogolaurie, who is headman of the village of “Darkest Africa,” has 53 wives at home mourning his absence, only three of his favorites being permitted to accompany him as part of the exhibit” (Darkest Africa Brochure, Page 11). Polygamy excited Victorian minds by challenging 19th century views on marriage. Linking the object to the life story of a person in the Village seemed to validate the object’s interpretation, while at the same time “authenticating” the view of African life presented in the Village. Polygamy was practiced in many West African societies, however, none of the African Villagers, including Chief Ogolaurie, was identified as a polygamist on the passenger lists of the ship that brought them to America. Was Ogolaurie’s polygamy hidden from the authorities to make it easier for him to enter the United States? Or was the story of his polygamy created to entice American audiences? Sponsored by the Margaret L. Wendt Foundation. |
Photograph showing girl dressed with boots and man in heavy jacket. Photographs suggest that living conditions deteriorated in the African Village over the five months that it was occupied. By November the Africans were experiencing temperatures colder than any they had ever known in Africa. 
The Museum was located near the entrance to Darkest Africa. Unfortunately, we have no descriptions and few photographs showing the inside of the Museum. We know very little about what visitors learned from looking at the objects or how they were interpreted. 
