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Ota Benga
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Photograph by the Gerhard Sisters, 1904. Gerhard Sisters "Aborginal Portraits". Missouri Historical Society Photographs and Prints Collections. NS 28117. Scan © 2003, Missouri Historical Society.
DESCRIPTION
Advertised as a cannibal because he had confessed to eating human flesh, Ota Benga created quite a spectacle because of his filed teeth and wild eyes. Originating from the Badinga tribe of the Kasai Valley of Central Africa, Ota Benga stood only 4 feet 10 inches tall and was exhibited in the African Pygmy display. Considered capricious and troublesome to Fair organizers, the Pygmies were fascinated by their American surroundings and received many gifts from passing strangers. After the World’s Fair, Ota was moved to the Bronx Zoo where he was exhibited alongside monkeys, chimpanzees, and gorillas as part of a display of man’s “evolutionary ancestors.”
