Masaii Warriors

These guys visited the wild animal park for the summer of '07.

Cool!

awesome! .

Does the term "Völkerschau" ring a bell?

That's what I thought.

This will ring a bell with anyone who knows even just bits and pieces of the history of Hagenbeck. The only difference is that they brought in their Eskomos and whatever else many decades ago while this was four years ago. I have to admit that my feelings towards this are rather mixed...

As an anthropologist who has worked with diverse ethnic groups I consider that these presentations must be done with great care. if the masai were able to present their traditional dances and music as a rich culture, then this may be justified. Also the role of tribal people in protecting enviroment should be mentined. If it was just a show then it is a step backward. The Smithsonian in Washington has a fine folkways presentation every year which is a good example of how these presentations should be done. Also native people at the smithsonian presentations are encouraged to sell native crafts and support their local economies.

Having been to Tanzania and seen the Masai people and knowing about the Hagenbeck human zoos, I admit that I'm not a fan of these.

An interesting debate. I am sure that this could be an enriching part of any zoo experience however the fact that zoo's are known for their displace of animals combined with the history of human zoo's and the horrible racism that comes with that does make me feel uneasy.