Olympic Games: human zoo at the Olympics

A man of indigenous descent stands barefoot in a sandy field and hurls a spear. His upper body is free, his hips are covered by a cloth. White men in dark suits stand around him. They stare at the spear thrower and seem skeptical.

This “competition” was part of the supporting program of the Olympia in St. Louis on August 12th and 13th, 1904, 120 years ago. It was the “Anthropological Days” at the games in the US state of Missouri. Or as the organizers put it: “The first sporting meeting in which only wild people take part.” The organizers wanted to show that black and indigenous people were not only mentally but also physically inferior to white people.

The third modern Olympic Games were tied to the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904. At that time, “ethnic shows” were an integral part of the entertainment program in North America, Europe and Japan – not only at world exhibitions, but also at circuses, zoos and fairs. In the city on the Mississippi, authentic “native villages” were supposedly built for 3,000 indigenous people. Many of them have been moved from one “human zoo” to the next for years.

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“Anthropological Days” at Olympia

The organizers of the “Anthropological Days” recruited around 100 men from Patagonia, Central Africa and the Philippines for their exhibition fights in these villages. The indigenous people took part in shot put, running and long jump, but also, as it was said, in “wilderness-friendly” disciplines: tree climbing, tug of war or archery. “The hosts created a rigged competition,” says American author Jules Boykoff, who has been researching the topic for years. »They only explained the rules to the participants in English. And they didn’t give them any time to prepare.”

Boykoff also describes this detail of the “anthropological days” in his book “Power Games”: At a running competition, some participants of indigenous origin were waiting for their slower colleagues. It wasn’t about winning, they wanted to reach the finish line together and in solidarity. Boykoff says: “For the organizers, this was a confirmation of their prejudices – for the backwardness of the so-called ‘savages’.”

Organizers of the 1904 Olympics collaborated with anthropologists at the World’s Fair. This enabled the researchers to save themselves expensive trips to other continents. Instead, they measured and categorized the participants right before the exhibition fights. The elites wanted to justify their concept of “human races” with their pseudo-scientific findings and photographs, emphasizes Tahir Della from the Initiative for Black People in Germany: “With these constructed realities of life of indigenous and black people, they wanted to show that the global south is supposedly underdeveloped. This is how the European colonial powers wanted to justify further exploitation.

Sport as part of colonialism

During the heyday of the “ethnic shows” between 1875 and 1940, it is estimated that around 25,000 black and indigenous people were “exhibited” worldwide. At first many of them were kidnapped. They were later “recruited” with the help of agents, animal dealers and consulates. The “Volkerschaus” often reached an audience of millions and achieved high profits, including through sporting exhibition fights.

The colonial period was also closely linked to the development of modern sports. Officials from that time, such as International Olympic Committee President Pierre de Coubertin and Fifa President Jules Rimet, wanted to “civilize” people in Africa and Asia using sport. Their idealizing speeches about “international understanding” – always from a Eurocentric perspective – still have an impact today. And this also applies to exhibition fights like the “Anthropological Days,” says Tahir Della: “In current geography books or history books that deal with the African continent, we often still see depictions of huts and wilderness, but not of many people. A distortion of reality.«

In the countries of former colonial powers, such as Great Britain, France and Portugal, the process of coming to terms with slavery and exploitation is still in its infancy. Even sports associations such as the IOC or FIFA do not look back self-critically. One consequence: a lack of historical knowledge in societies.

The pain of the descendants

An example: At the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris, France celebrated itself as a nation of diversity and high culture, with spectacular images of historic buildings. But experts like the London-based journalist Shahla Omar, who deal intensively with post-colonial history, saw something different: the singer Axelle Saint-Cirel sang the French anthem during the opening ceremony, standing on the roof of the Grand Palais. “It looked beautiful, at least on the surface,” says Omar. »What many people don’t know: The Grand Palais was built for the World Exhibition in 1900. At that time, “ethnic shows” were held there. People from the colonies were humiliated there.”

Incidentally, several indigenous people who were “exhibited” at the 1904 Olympic Games in St. Louis never returned home. Their bodies were examined and also exhibited in museums. So the pain of their descendants continues.

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