After years of unsettling negotiation with France, South Africa finally…
The Life and Times of Sara Baartman
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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When 20 year old Sara Baartman got on a boat that was to take her from Cape Town to London in 1810, she could not have known that she would would never see her home again. Nor, as she stood on the deck and saw her homeland disappear behind her could she have known that she would become the icon of racial inferiority and black female sexuality for the next 100 years.
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SARA BAARTMAN is the fascinating story of this Khoi Khoi woman who was taken from South Africa, and then exhibited as a freak across Britain. The image and idea of 'The Hottentot Venus' swept through British popular culture. A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed.
In 1814 she was taken to France, and became the object of scientific and medical research that formed the bedrock of European ideas about black female sexuality. She died the next year. But even after her death, Sara Baartman remained an object of imperialist scientific investigation. In the name of Science, her sexual organs and brain were displayed in the Musee de l'Homme in Paris until as recently as 1985.
Using historical drawings, cartoons, legal documents, and interviews with noted cultural historians and anthropologists, THE LIFE AND TIMES OF SARA BAARTMAN deconstructs the social, political, scientific and philosophical assumptions which transformed one young African woman into a representation of savage sexuality and racial inferiority.
A telling and quite powerful film. It would be very appropriate for any class in the history of racism or colonial history.'-American Historical Review
'An excellent film... I would recommend that it be made a part of the video library of African, African-American and Women's Studies programs. It is valuable for scholarly purposes because the issues of colonialism, racism, enslavement, scientific racism, and beauty standards are covered here in the story of Sara Baartman, the Hottentot Venus.'-Dr. Miriam Ma'at-Ka-Re Monges, California State University, for H-AfriLitCine
'Poignant, mesmerizing and informative...'-Neil Parsons, University of Botswana for H-SAfrica
'The film attempts to change ways of thinking, to prevent the propagation of discrimination... it persuades people to behave in a democratic manner, and aims to produce new responses to racism: resistance instead of acceptance.'-African Media Project
'Excellent...An important film that not only portrays the tragic life of an African woman, but it will force the viewer to consider many larger issues related to the treatment and perception of Blacks.'-Anthropology Review Database
Citation
Main credits
Maseko, Zola (Director)
Gavshon, Harriet (Producer)
Brooks, Philip (Producer)
Docin-Julien, Christian (Screenwriter)
Mohamed, Pops (Composer)
Other credits
Narration written by Christian Docin-Julien; camera, Giulio Biccari; editor, Lise Beaulieu; original music composed by Pops Mohamed, performed by Pops Mohamed and Gloria Bosman.
Distributor subjects
African Studies; Anthropology; Cultural Anthropology; Cultural Studies; French History; History (World); History of Science; Museum Studies; Race and racism; South Africa; Women's StudiesKeywords
Saartjie; Sara; Baartman; Hottentot; Venus; African Studies; women's studies; representation; postmodern; race; Europe; human sexuality; anthropology; racism; imperialism; science; Zola Maseko; documentary; film; video; DVD; "The Life and Times of Sara Baartman"; Icarus Films;
WEBVTT
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[MUSIC PLAYING]
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It all started after
the end of a bad date.
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The new South Africa
wants her back.
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It was the beginning
of the 19th century.
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She was a young woman
coming from far away.
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She\'s been both a servant
and a great attraction.
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She\'s been both a Venus
and an exotic freak,
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a cartoon and a song, a
vaudeville and a poke.
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She\'s been a woman,
and she\'s been an ape.
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How could the same person
play so many different parts?
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She was like a beast drawn,
measured, and chopped,
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then preciously preserved
in a French museum.
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Even in death, she
was given no rest.
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Now she in Paris at the Musée
de l\'Homme In case number 33,
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they keep her skeleton.
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Why is she considered a symbol?
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Her name is Sarah Baartman,
and this is her story.
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[MUSIC PLAYING]
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Sarah Baartman was
born in South Africa,
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in this vast, tranquil landscape
that is the Eastern Cape.
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She belonged to the
Khoikhoi, a nomadic people
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who had roamed freely across
this land for centuries.
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From North to
South, East to West
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they wandered in search of
greener grazing pastures
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for their livestock.
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They lived in caves on which
they recorded their lives
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and history.
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[MUSIC PLAYING]
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But in 1790, the
tranquility of this place
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had long since been shattered
by the brutal arrival
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of the Europeans.
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And at the time
of Sarah\'s birth,
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her people, the Khoikhoi, were
engaged in a guerrilla war
00:02:19.740 --> 00:02:21.780 align:middle line:90%
against the encroaching Dutch.
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This meant that the men lived
in mountains ever watchful
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of the feared commando raids.
00:02:28.380 --> 00:02:33.210 align:middle line:84%
This also meant that only the
women, children, and the old
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were left in the villages
to fend for themselves.
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Sarah was born and
grew up in a war zone.
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We know of the near
extermination of the San
00:02:47.520 --> 00:02:56.010 align:middle line:84%
or Bushmen by commandos from
Cape Town Because as they said,
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the Bushmen were
stealing our cattle.
00:02:59.010 --> 00:03:05.230 align:middle line:84%
And so thousands and
thousands of San or Bushmen
00:03:05.230 --> 00:03:11.410 align:middle line:84%
were shot over weekend commandos
like, people going hunting.
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There was the feeling
that you could
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do with what you liked
with these people
00:03:16.750 --> 00:03:19.450 align:middle line:84%
because they
weren\'t quite human.
00:03:19.450 --> 00:03:21.490 align:middle line:90%
They were subhuman.
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They were near-human,
but they weren\'t us.
00:03:24.340 --> 00:03:27.640 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
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This is an actual witness
account of a Boer commando
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raid on a Khoikhoi village.
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They surrounded the
place during the night
00:03:37.860 --> 00:03:39.840 align:middle line:90%
spotting the Bushman\'s fires.
00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:41.790 align:middle line:84%
At daybreak, the
firing commenced
00:03:41.790 --> 00:03:44.610 align:middle line:84%
and lasted until the
sun was a little way up.
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The commando party loaded
and fired and reloaded
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many times before
they had finished.
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A great many people,
women and children,
00:03:52.320 --> 00:03:56.010 align:middle line:84%
were fired upon that
day, the men were absent.
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Only a few little
children escaped,
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and they were distributed among
the people of the command.
00:04:01.350 --> 00:04:03.540 align:middle line:84%
The women threw up
their arms for mercy,
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but no mercy was shown.
00:04:05.430 --> 00:04:07.650 align:middle line:84%
Great sins were
perpetrated that day.
00:04:07.650 --> 00:04:12.000 align:middle line:90%
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This is probably how the
young Sarah came to Cape Town.
00:04:17.545 --> 00:04:51.430 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
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She would have been [INAUDIBLE]
for contracted out to a farmer
00:04:56.350 --> 00:04:58.390 align:middle line:84%
somewhere in the
vicinity of Cape Town,
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or she would have worked
for the Cape Corps
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at various public works building
roads, building buildings,
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doing the cold washing,
that type of thing.
00:05:07.670 --> 00:05:11.170 align:middle line:84%
So that is, well, how she could
have ended up on Cesars\' farm.
00:05:11.170 --> 00:05:14.080 align:middle line:84%
This clumsy, amateur
sketch is all
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that remains of the house
where Sarah worked as a servant
00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:19.490 align:middle line:90%
until 1810.
00:05:19.490 --> 00:05:23.930 align:middle line:84%
The farm belonged to Peter
Cesars, a Dutch farmer.
00:05:23.930 --> 00:05:27.080 align:middle line:84%
In the spring of the
same year, Peter Cesars
00:05:27.080 --> 00:05:30.950 align:middle line:84%
received two visitors
his brother Hendrik,
00:05:30.950 --> 00:05:35.360 align:middle line:84%
accompanied by a British
surgeon named Alexander Dunlop.
00:05:35.360 --> 00:05:39.200 align:middle line:84%
The two men knew too well that
for the past two centuries,
00:05:39.200 --> 00:05:42.980 align:middle line:84%
Europeans had been fascinated
by the Khoikhoi, especially
00:05:42.980 --> 00:05:43.940 align:middle line:90%
the women.
00:05:43.940 --> 00:05:47.600 align:middle line:84%
This would explain
their immediate interest
00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:50.690 align:middle line:90%
in the 20-year-old Sarah.
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The Khoikhoi or Hottentot
peoples of Southern Africa
00:05:55.370 --> 00:05:59.870 align:middle line:84%
were particularly
interesting to Europeans
00:05:59.870 --> 00:06:05.450 align:middle line:84%
because they had an
almost morbid fascination
00:06:05.450 --> 00:06:14.990 align:middle line:84%
in the genital and special
features of the Khoikhoi
00:06:14.990 --> 00:06:17.300 align:middle line:90%
people, especially the females.
00:06:17.300 --> 00:06:21.650 align:middle line:84%
And there had long
been rumors in Europe
00:06:21.650 --> 00:06:24.300 align:middle line:84%
that there were
some very special
00:06:24.300 --> 00:06:29.520 align:middle line:84%
and interesting and unusual
features about Khoikhoi ladies\'
00:06:29.520 --> 00:06:31.560 align:middle line:90%
genital anatomy.
00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:36.300 align:middle line:84%
And although it is
today repugnant to us
00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:43.530 align:middle line:84%
to think about such matters,
these early naturalists
00:06:43.530 --> 00:06:49.260 align:middle line:84%
wanted to find out for
themselves were they--
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as rumor had held, were they
something very different
00:06:54.570 --> 00:06:55.830 align:middle line:90%
and very special.
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Behind it, there was a mindset.
00:07:00.750 --> 00:07:07.950 align:middle line:84%
And the mindset was, are
these people really human?
00:07:07.950 --> 00:07:11.280 align:middle line:84%
There was even a
feeling that they
00:07:11.280 --> 00:07:14.820 align:middle line:84%
didn\'t belong to our
human species, which
00:07:14.820 --> 00:07:17.040 align:middle line:84%
all the rest of the
world belong to,
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but they were something apart.
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Hendrik Cesars and
Alexander Dunlop
00:07:23.090 --> 00:07:25.490 align:middle line:84%
both knew that if
they could convince
00:07:25.490 --> 00:07:28.410 align:middle line:84%
Sarah Baartman to
accompany them to Europe,
00:07:28.410 --> 00:07:30.470 align:middle line:90%
they would make a fortune.
00:07:30.470 --> 00:07:36.190 align:middle line:84%
If she was a slave in Cape
Town, she had very little choice
00:07:36.190 --> 00:07:37.480 align:middle line:90%
about her life.
00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:39.520 align:middle line:84%
Once she was a slave, she
had very little choice
00:07:39.520 --> 00:07:42.700 align:middle line:84%
about where to live,
how to live, what to do.
00:07:42.700 --> 00:07:45.670 align:middle line:84%
It is quite perfectly
possible that if it is true,
00:07:45.670 --> 00:07:47.230 align:middle line:84%
as Hendrik Cesars
says, that he came
00:07:47.230 --> 00:07:49.660 align:middle line:84%
across her on the
farm of his brother,
00:07:49.660 --> 00:07:53.890 align:middle line:84%
that his brother simply gave him
to her as one person would give
00:07:53.890 --> 00:07:56.020 align:middle line:84%
a slave to another,
and say, take her.
00:07:56.020 --> 00:07:58.150 align:middle line:84%
You find her bum
interesting, take her
00:07:58.150 --> 00:07:59.650 align:middle line:90%
and do with her as you will.
00:07:59.650 --> 00:08:01.060 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:08:01.060 --> 00:09:10.010 align:middle line:90%
00:09:10.010 --> 00:09:12.920 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:09:12.920 --> 00:09:25.620 align:middle line:90%
00:09:25.620 --> 00:09:30.030 align:middle line:84%
On the 20th of March,
1810, Sarah Baartman,
00:09:30.030 --> 00:09:33.270 align:middle line:84%
Hendrick Cesars,
and Alexander Dunlop
00:09:33.270 --> 00:09:36.630 align:middle line:84%
boarded a ship
bound for England.
00:09:36.630 --> 00:09:40.100 align:middle line:90%
The journey lasted three months.
00:09:40.100 --> 00:09:42.620 align:middle line:84%
What went on in that
young woman\'s head,
00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:47.150 align:middle line:84%
as the ship set sail,
we will never know.
00:09:47.150 --> 00:09:49.730 align:middle line:84%
What is certain, is
that she would never
00:09:49.730 --> 00:09:51.290 align:middle line:90%
again see her motherland.
00:09:51.290 --> 00:09:54.040 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:09:54.040 --> 00:10:13.770 align:middle line:90%
00:10:13.770 --> 00:10:18.570 align:middle line:84%
Sarah Baartman arrived
in London in June 1810.
00:10:18.570 --> 00:10:23.330 align:middle line:84%
England had abolished the slave
trade just four years earlier.
00:10:23.330 --> 00:10:29.090 align:middle line:84%
As a young, Black woman,
what were her prospects?
00:10:29.090 --> 00:10:31.700 align:middle line:84%
When Saartjie turned
up in this country,
00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.640 align:middle line:84%
the Black population
was still mostly living
00:10:34.640 --> 00:10:39.530 align:middle line:84%
in London and the sea
ports in various states.
00:10:39.530 --> 00:10:42.650 align:middle line:84%
On one hand, you can
say that the majority
00:10:42.650 --> 00:10:46.070 align:middle line:84%
of the Black people here
were of the status which
00:10:46.070 --> 00:10:51.230 align:middle line:84%
is known as slave servants,
that midpoint of servitude.
00:10:51.230 --> 00:10:52.920 align:middle line:90%
And that\'s just the fact.
00:10:52.920 --> 00:10:55.970 align:middle line:84%
On the other hand, you
can look at the writings
00:10:55.970 --> 00:11:01.670 align:middle line:84%
of a noted socialite, like
Mrs. Hester Piozzi, who
00:11:01.670 --> 00:11:04.850 align:middle line:84%
noted eight years before
Saartjie turned up
00:11:04.850 --> 00:11:09.410 align:middle line:84%
in London, that there were
Black ladies in all their finery
00:11:09.410 --> 00:11:12.560 align:middle line:84%
in the pit at the opera
attending the opera house.
00:11:12.560 --> 00:11:15.530 align:middle line:84%
At the same time, she
also noted Black children
00:11:15.530 --> 00:11:18.650 align:middle line:84%
playing in the squares
with their nurses.
00:11:18.650 --> 00:11:22.590 align:middle line:84%
So although there was
a concessionary number
00:11:22.590 --> 00:11:25.350 align:middle line:84%
of Black people who managed
to move through society
00:11:25.350 --> 00:11:28.230 align:middle line:84%
with relative ease, the
majority of the community
00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:33.050 align:middle line:84%
were in some sort of servitude
or some sort of beggary.
00:11:33.050 --> 00:11:36.710 align:middle line:84%
Uppermost in Hendrik Cesars
and Alexander Dunlop\'s minds,
00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:41.030 align:middle line:84%
was to profit from
their rare specimen.
00:11:41.030 --> 00:11:44.450 align:middle line:84%
They approached William
Bullock, the keeper of the Art
00:11:44.450 --> 00:11:47.460 align:middle line:90%
and Natural History Museum.
00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:52.070 align:middle line:84%
They offered to sell him Sarah
Baartman and a giraffe skin.
00:11:52.070 --> 00:11:57.450 align:middle line:84%
Bullock bought the giraffe
skin but refused to pay Sarah.
00:11:57.450 --> 00:12:02.040 align:middle line:84%
Apparently Dunlop panicked,
and asked Cesars to buy him out
00:12:02.040 --> 00:12:03.850 align:middle line:90%
of their deal.
00:12:03.850 --> 00:12:08.020 align:middle line:84%
Cesars, believing he was
on to a huge money spinner,
00:12:08.020 --> 00:12:11.900 align:middle line:84%
began to put his
plan into action.
00:12:11.900 --> 00:12:14.110 align:middle line:84%
They thought she was
a freak because she
00:12:14.110 --> 00:12:19.270 align:middle line:84%
was different from English
women or Scottish women, women
00:12:19.270 --> 00:12:21.910 align:middle line:84%
in the British Isles,
whom they knew well.
00:12:21.910 --> 00:12:28.360 align:middle line:84%
She was different because
she had a larger buttocks
00:12:28.360 --> 00:12:32.020 align:middle line:84%
than one would find
in most British women.
00:12:32.020 --> 00:12:35.455 align:middle line:84%
And for this they considered
her to be freakish.
00:12:35.455 --> 00:12:38.470 align:middle line:90%
00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:44.920 align:middle line:84%
If you were looking at her in
Khoikhoi society, in the Cape,
00:12:44.920 --> 00:12:48.470 align:middle line:84%
you would have said, oh, there\'s
nothing special about her.
00:12:48.470 --> 00:12:51.010 align:middle line:84%
She is a member
of her population,
00:12:51.010 --> 00:12:53.860 align:middle line:84%
no different and
not freakish at all.
00:12:53.860 --> 00:12:56.170 align:middle line:84%
Saartjie Baartman\'s
appearance in London
00:12:56.170 --> 00:12:59.230 align:middle line:84%
was the first
physical confirmation
00:12:59.230 --> 00:13:03.280 align:middle line:84%
of this semi-mythical
phenomena which
00:13:03.280 --> 00:13:08.260 align:middle line:84%
had been in the minds of English
travelers and French travelers,
00:13:08.260 --> 00:13:11.450 align:middle line:84%
even more so, for
nearly 200 years.
00:13:11.450 --> 00:13:14.180 align:middle line:84%
They knew this was odd, but
this was the first exhibit.
00:13:14.180 --> 00:13:16.820 align:middle line:84%
And it was a time, as
I say, when we were
00:13:16.820 --> 00:13:19.760 align:middle line:90%
looking for whatever was new.
00:13:19.760 --> 00:13:23.780 align:middle line:84%
Piccadilly was, even then,
a popular entertainment area
00:13:23.780 --> 00:13:26.000 align:middle line:90%
in the big metropolis.
00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:28.760 align:middle line:84%
Of all the various
thrills on offer,
00:13:28.760 --> 00:13:32.420 align:middle line:84%
freak shows were the
biggest attraction.
00:13:32.420 --> 00:13:36.740 align:middle line:84%
Freak shows really
started in royal courts.
00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:39.050 align:middle line:84%
Anything that was
different in any nation
00:13:39.050 --> 00:13:40.460 align:middle line:90%
was taken to the king.
00:13:40.460 --> 00:13:43.820 align:middle line:84%
We\'ve got them recorded
in France, in the 1400s.
00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:46.190 align:middle line:84%
Queen Henrietta Maria
in this country,
00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:49.130 align:middle line:84%
had a dwarf who was 18
inches high as her jester.
00:13:49.130 --> 00:13:51.290 align:middle line:84%
And if you look at
Velazquez\'s paintings,
00:13:51.290 --> 00:13:53.942 align:middle line:84%
the Imperial Court
of Spain and Portugal
00:13:53.942 --> 00:13:56.150 align:middle line:84%
kept dwarfs who used to play
with the royal children,
00:13:56.150 --> 00:13:57.980 align:middle line:84%
but there were
also royal jesters.
00:13:57.980 --> 00:14:01.910 align:middle line:84%
Now inevitably, such
people sought income
00:14:01.910 --> 00:14:02.810 align:middle line:90%
outside the court.
00:14:02.810 --> 00:14:04.790 align:middle line:84%
They often weren\'t
paid inside the court.
00:14:04.790 --> 00:14:09.350 align:middle line:84%
And what they did was simply
to take to fairs and circuses.
00:14:09.350 --> 00:14:14.780 align:middle line:84%
We exhibited sapient
pigs, sapient horses,
00:14:14.780 --> 00:14:18.170 align:middle line:84%
fleas that could
fight, women who
00:14:18.170 --> 00:14:22.020 align:middle line:84%
were bears, Bears who were
women, pigs dressed up
00:14:22.020 --> 00:14:24.450 align:middle line:90%
as women, anything went.
00:14:24.450 --> 00:14:28.020 align:middle line:84%
You could not imagine anything
in your mind that was not
00:14:28.020 --> 00:14:31.200 align:middle line:84%
horrific enough or outlandish
enough to be exhibited
00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:33.249 align:middle line:90%
in return for money.
00:14:33.249 --> 00:14:36.003 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:14:36.003 --> 00:14:37.380 align:middle line:90%
00:14:37.380 --> 00:14:41.670 align:middle line:84%
On the 20th of September
1810, Hendrik Cesars
00:14:41.670 --> 00:14:44.910 align:middle line:84%
published an advertisement
in \"The Morning Post.\"
00:14:44.910 --> 00:14:47.820 align:middle line:84%
Just arrived from the
banks of the River Gamtoos
00:14:47.820 --> 00:14:50.850 align:middle line:84%
on the borders of the Kaffraria
in the interior of South
00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:54.210 align:middle line:84%
Africa, a most correct
and perfect specimen
00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:56.040 align:middle line:90%
of that race of people.
00:14:56.040 --> 00:14:58.770 align:middle line:84%
From this extraordinary
phenomenon of nature,
00:14:58.770 --> 00:15:00.510 align:middle line:84%
the people will
have an opportunity
00:15:00.510 --> 00:15:03.690 align:middle line:84%
of judging how far she
exceeds any description given
00:15:03.690 --> 00:15:07.140 align:middle line:84%
by historians of that
tribe of human species.
00:15:07.140 --> 00:15:09.120 align:middle line:84%
She has been brought
to this country
00:15:09.120 --> 00:15:12.870 align:middle line:84%
at a considerable expense
by Hendrik Cesars.
00:15:12.870 --> 00:15:16.860 align:middle line:84%
Sarah Baartman\'s show, at
two shillings per head,
00:15:16.860 --> 00:15:18.960 align:middle line:90%
was an immediate success.
00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:23.220 align:middle line:84%
Every day, from 1:00
PM until 5:00 PM,
00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:28.830 align:middle line:84%
large crowds would gather
at 225 Piccadilly Street.
00:15:28.830 --> 00:15:31.140 align:middle line:84%
The extraordinary thing
about her exhibition
00:15:31.140 --> 00:15:33.465 align:middle line:84%
is that somebody
drew a cartoon of it.
00:15:33.465 --> 00:15:35.340 align:middle line:84%
It\'s in the style of
Rollins, and it may even
00:15:35.340 --> 00:15:36.900 align:middle line:90%
have been a sketch by him.
00:15:36.900 --> 00:15:41.850 align:middle line:84%
There stands this young
Khoikhoi woman on a plinth.
00:15:41.850 --> 00:15:43.710 align:middle line:90%
She looks noble.
00:15:43.710 --> 00:15:45.210 align:middle line:90%
She looks elegant.
00:15:45.210 --> 00:15:48.540 align:middle line:84%
She is topless, but she\'s got
the traditional [INAUDIBLE]
00:15:48.540 --> 00:15:51.850 align:middle line:90%
type apron in front of her.
00:15:51.850 --> 00:15:54.340 align:middle line:90%
She is looking straight forward.
00:15:54.340 --> 00:15:58.750 align:middle line:84%
At her foot, kneels a woman
peering under her apron trying
00:15:58.750 --> 00:16:00.250 align:middle line:90%
to see the pudenda.
00:16:00.250 --> 00:16:02.860 align:middle line:84%
In front of her, are
Scottish soldiers.
00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:05.470 align:middle line:84%
Why did the artist
choose Scottish soldiers?
00:16:05.470 --> 00:16:09.130 align:middle line:84%
Because they wear kilts,
short kilts in this cartoon.
00:16:09.130 --> 00:16:13.420 align:middle line:84%
And they have long sporrans
over their pudenda at the front.
00:16:13.420 --> 00:16:17.770 align:middle line:84%
But a dog is at the
back sniffing eagerly up
00:16:17.770 --> 00:16:21.790 align:middle line:84%
the skirt of a kilt of the
Scottish soldier as he tries
00:16:21.790 --> 00:16:25.570 align:middle line:84%
to do the same thing to what
the man at the time, probably
00:16:25.570 --> 00:16:27.790 align:middle line:90%
thought was a noble savage.
00:16:27.790 --> 00:16:31.270 align:middle line:84%
It\'s a good lesson, and the
sympathies of the cartoonist
00:16:31.270 --> 00:16:33.940 align:middle line:84%
are entirely with the
person being exhibited
00:16:33.940 --> 00:16:36.190 align:middle line:90%
and not with the gorping crowd.
00:16:36.190 --> 00:16:39.130 align:middle line:84%
(SINGING) Oh, have you
been in London town, it\'s
00:16:39.130 --> 00:16:43.510 align:middle line:84%
rare it is to see there
amongst the ladies of renown,
00:16:43.510 --> 00:16:45.340 align:middle line:90%
the most renowned is she.
00:16:45.340 --> 00:16:48.400 align:middle line:84%
In Piccadilly Street
so fair, a mansion
00:16:48.400 --> 00:16:53.120 align:middle line:84%
she has got on golden letters
written there, the Venus
00:16:53.120 --> 00:16:54.470 align:middle line:90%
Hottentot.
00:16:54.470 --> 00:16:58.760 align:middle line:84%
But you may ask and well I
ween for why she tarries there,
00:16:58.760 --> 00:17:03.980 align:middle line:84%
and what in her is to be seen
than other folks more rare?
00:17:03.980 --> 00:17:11.180 align:middle line:84%
A rump she has, though strange
it be, large as a caldron pot.
00:17:11.180 --> 00:17:17.329 align:middle line:84%
And that is why men go to
see the lovely Hottentot.
00:17:17.329 --> 00:17:20.599 align:middle line:84%
Now, this was shown for
many a day and eke for many
00:17:20.599 --> 00:17:23.569 align:middle line:84%
a night, till sober
folks began to say
00:17:23.569 --> 00:17:25.339 align:middle line:90%
that all could not be right.
00:17:25.339 --> 00:17:29.750 align:middle line:84%
Some said this was with her good
will, and some said it was not
00:17:29.750 --> 00:17:34.736 align:middle line:84%
and asked why they did you
so ill, the lady Hottentot.
00:17:34.736 --> 00:17:37.640 align:middle line:90%
00:17:37.640 --> 00:17:40.640 align:middle line:84%
From the depictions of
cartoonists and songwriters
00:17:40.640 --> 00:17:44.240 align:middle line:84%
of the day, one would
imagine that Sarah\'s show was
00:17:44.240 --> 00:17:46.250 align:middle line:84%
one of the most
comical and hilarious
00:17:46.250 --> 00:17:48.380 align:middle line:90%
of London\'s many attractions.
00:17:48.380 --> 00:17:50.840 align:middle line:90%
This was not the case.
00:17:50.840 --> 00:17:54.560 align:middle line:84%
After witnessing the exhibition,
a journalist for \"The Times\"
00:17:54.560 --> 00:17:57.070 align:middle line:90%
newspaper reported.
00:17:57.070 --> 00:17:59.110 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:17:59.110 --> 00:18:02.770 align:middle line:84%
The exhibition took place on a
stage raised about three feet
00:18:02.770 --> 00:18:05.170 align:middle line:84%
from the floor with
a cage or enclosed
00:18:05.170 --> 00:18:06.970 align:middle line:90%
place at the end of it.
00:18:06.970 --> 00:18:09.700 align:middle line:84%
The Hottentot was
produced like a wild beast
00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:12.040 align:middle line:84%
and ordered to move
backwards and forwards
00:18:12.040 --> 00:18:14.470 align:middle line:84%
and come out and
go into her cage.
00:18:14.470 --> 00:18:18.070 align:middle line:84%
More like a bear in a
chain than a human being.
00:18:18.070 --> 00:18:21.100 align:middle line:84%
When she refused for a moment
to come out of her cage,
00:18:21.100 --> 00:18:23.980 align:middle line:84%
the keeper let down the
curtain, went behind,
00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:27.490 align:middle line:84%
and was seen to hold up his hand
to her in a menacing posture.
00:18:27.490 --> 00:18:29.770 align:middle line:84%
She then came
forward at his call
00:18:29.770 --> 00:18:31.180 align:middle line:90%
and was perfectly obedient.
00:18:31.180 --> 00:18:34.570 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:18:34.570 --> 00:18:38.650 align:middle line:84%
It\'s interesting to note
that the Anti-Slaver
00:18:38.650 --> 00:18:44.140 align:middle line:84%
League and the African Institute
in London at that time, which
00:18:44.140 --> 00:18:48.760 align:middle line:84%
was very strongly abolitionist
in favor of abolition
00:18:48.760 --> 00:18:51.640 align:middle line:90%
of slavery, took up her case.
00:18:51.640 --> 00:18:56.050 align:middle line:84%
And there was a major
press controversy
00:18:56.050 --> 00:18:59.500 align:middle line:84%
about the degradation
which was being
00:18:59.500 --> 00:19:06.220 align:middle line:84%
made on this poor lady, who had
been brought from South Africa
00:19:06.220 --> 00:19:11.380 align:middle line:90%
and was now being demonstrated.
00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:15.400 align:middle line:84%
She was extremely ill, and the
man insisted on her dancing.
00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:18.880 align:middle line:84%
The poor creature pointed to
her throat and to her knees,
00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.450 align:middle line:84%
as if she felt pain in
both pleading in tears
00:19:22.450 --> 00:19:25.060 align:middle line:84%
that he should not
force her compliance.
00:19:25.060 --> 00:19:28.300 align:middle line:84%
He declared that she was
sulky, produced a long piece
00:19:28.300 --> 00:19:30.310 align:middle line:90%
of bamboo, and shook it at her.
00:19:30.310 --> 00:19:31.810 align:middle line:90%
She saw it, knew it--
00:19:31.810 --> 00:19:35.780 align:middle line:84%
Between the 10th and the
29th of October 1810,
00:19:35.780 --> 00:19:39.170 align:middle line:84%
\"The Examiner,\" \"The Morning
Chronicle,\" and \"The Morning
00:19:39.170 --> 00:19:43.490 align:middle line:84%
Post\" published a series
of letters expressing shock
00:19:43.490 --> 00:19:46.160 align:middle line:90%
at Sarah Baartman\'s exhibition.
00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:50.000 align:middle line:84%
I allude to that wretched object
advertised and publicly shown
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:52.340 align:middle line:90%
for money, the Hottentot Venus.
00:19:52.340 --> 00:19:55.790 align:middle line:84%
I think, sir, that the air
of the British constitution
00:19:55.790 --> 00:19:58.820 align:middle line:84%
is too pure to permit
slavery in the very heart
00:19:58.820 --> 00:19:59.990 align:middle line:90%
of the metropolis.
00:19:59.990 --> 00:20:02.690 align:middle line:84%
Your obedient servant,
an Englishman.
00:20:02.690 --> 00:20:04.850 align:middle line:90%
I am, sir, yours, Humanitas.
00:20:04.850 --> 00:20:07.790 align:middle line:90%
I am, sir, yours, a white man.
00:20:07.790 --> 00:20:10.970 align:middle line:84%
Hendrick Cesars\' response
followed shortly afterwards
00:20:10.970 --> 00:20:13.280 align:middle line:90%
in \"The Morning Chronicle.\"
00:20:13.280 --> 00:20:16.460 align:middle line:84%
He claimed that the Hottentot
Venus was a willing participant
00:20:16.460 --> 00:20:19.100 align:middle line:84%
in the show, that
she was getting
00:20:19.100 --> 00:20:22.160 align:middle line:84%
a fair share of the
profits, and that anyone
00:20:22.160 --> 00:20:24.080 align:middle line:84%
who could understand
her language
00:20:24.080 --> 00:20:26.600 align:middle line:84%
would hear from
herself that she is
00:20:26.600 --> 00:20:30.320 align:middle line:84%
treated with the utmost
humanity, kindness,
00:20:30.320 --> 00:20:33.010 align:middle line:90%
and tenderness.
00:20:33.010 --> 00:20:37.720 align:middle line:84%
The abolitionist movement had
gained a major victory in 1806
00:20:37.720 --> 00:20:40.060 align:middle line:84%
with the banning
of the slave trade.
00:20:40.060 --> 00:20:42.460 align:middle line:84%
At the time, slavery
was still legal
00:20:42.460 --> 00:20:45.580 align:middle line:84%
throughout the British
empire, except on the grounds
00:20:45.580 --> 00:20:47.420 align:middle line:90%
of Britain itself.
00:20:47.420 --> 00:20:53.000 align:middle line:84%
So to have found a slave
on British ground, who
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:55.460 align:middle line:84%
had come on, presumably,
a British ship
00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:57.830 align:middle line:84%
from a British
colony, would have
00:20:57.830 --> 00:21:02.720 align:middle line:84%
been to undercut the victory
in so many different ways.
00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.300 align:middle line:84%
They fought hard to
abolish the slave trade.
00:21:05.300 --> 00:21:08.300 align:middle line:84%
And I suppose it would
have felt to them
00:21:08.300 --> 00:21:10.340 align:middle line:90%
like a slap in the face.
00:21:10.340 --> 00:21:15.560 align:middle line:84%
So I think this, to me, was
the motivation behind the court
00:21:15.560 --> 00:21:16.850 align:middle line:90%
case.
00:21:16.850 --> 00:21:20.330 align:middle line:84%
The African Institution was
an abolitionist movement,
00:21:20.330 --> 00:21:22.940 align:middle line:84%
whose main concern
was protecting
00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:24.455 align:middle line:90%
the rights of freed slaves.
00:21:24.455 --> 00:21:27.110 align:middle line:90%
00:21:27.110 --> 00:21:33.680 align:middle line:84%
On Saturday, November the
24th, 1810, Zachary Macaulay,
00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:38.780 align:middle line:84%
Thomas Gisborne Babington,
and Peter Van Wageninge three
00:21:38.780 --> 00:21:42.050 align:middle line:84%
of its leading members,
brought Sarah\'s case
00:21:42.050 --> 00:21:44.934 align:middle line:84%
before the Court of
the King\'s bench.
00:21:44.934 --> 00:21:46.870 align:middle line:90%
[BANGING GAVEL]
00:21:46.870 --> 00:21:50.320 align:middle line:84%
The attorney general
sought only an opportunity
00:21:50.320 --> 00:21:56.050 align:middle line:84%
to ascertain whether the woman
was in a state of coercion.
00:21:56.050 --> 00:22:02.030 align:middle line:84%
He stated, \"before we can remove
her from her present situation,
00:22:02.030 --> 00:22:05.950 align:middle line:84%
we must be satisfied that she
is an object capable of making
00:22:05.950 --> 00:22:08.330 align:middle line:90%
an election.\"
00:22:08.330 --> 00:22:11.030 align:middle line:84%
These then were the issues
to be resolved with Sarah
00:22:11.030 --> 00:22:13.130 align:middle line:90%
Baartman, the Hottentot Venus.
00:22:13.130 --> 00:22:16.210 align:middle line:90%
00:22:16.210 --> 00:22:19.840 align:middle line:84%
The court interview lasted
three hours and Sarah Baartman
00:22:19.840 --> 00:22:22.530 align:middle line:84%
was asked the
questions in Dutch.
00:22:22.530 --> 00:22:26.780 align:middle line:84%
The following is a
transcript of the interview.
00:22:26.780 --> 00:22:29.750 align:middle line:84%
\"She agreed to come to England
for a period of six years
00:22:29.750 --> 00:22:33.170 align:middle line:84%
and was promised half of the
money for exhibiting herself.
00:22:33.170 --> 00:22:36.770 align:middle line:84%
Mr. Cesars promised to send
her back home after that period
00:22:36.770 --> 00:22:38.520 align:middle line:90%
at his own expense.
00:22:38.520 --> 00:22:41.820 align:middle line:84%
She is kindly treated and
has everything she wants.
00:22:41.820 --> 00:22:45.020 align:middle line:84%
She is perfectly happy
in her present situation.
00:22:45.020 --> 00:22:48.140 align:middle line:84%
She has no desire to return
back to her own country.
00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:51.540 align:middle line:84%
She wishes to stay here
because she likes this country.
00:22:51.540 --> 00:22:54.050 align:middle line:84%
She has money given
to her by her master
00:22:54.050 --> 00:22:57.680 align:middle line:84%
and on Sunday, is allowed
to ride about in a coach.
00:22:57.680 --> 00:23:00.260 align:middle line:84%
No personal violence or
threats have been used
00:23:00.260 --> 00:23:02.450 align:middle line:90%
by any individual against her.
00:23:02.450 --> 00:23:05.510 align:middle line:84%
She even has two Black
boys to wait upon her.\"
00:23:05.510 --> 00:23:07.640 align:middle line:84%
People have analyzed
this court case
00:23:07.640 --> 00:23:12.020 align:middle line:84%
as if Sara Baartman was a
free agent who felt that she--
00:23:12.020 --> 00:23:14.720 align:middle line:84%
who felt that she
was free, who had
00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:16.670 align:middle line:84%
an understanding of
herself and the situation
00:23:16.670 --> 00:23:18.410 align:middle line:90%
as if she had a choice.
00:23:18.410 --> 00:23:21.920 align:middle line:84%
And I try to explain that if
she was a Khoikhoi who grew up
00:23:21.920 --> 00:23:24.830 align:middle line:84%
in South Africa
between 1790 and 1810,
00:23:24.830 --> 00:23:26.748 align:middle line:84%
this would have been
highly unlikely.
00:23:26.748 --> 00:23:28.790 align:middle line:84%
The only way in which she
could have seen herself
00:23:28.790 --> 00:23:31.550 align:middle line:84%
as a free agent would have
been if she was born and bred
00:23:31.550 --> 00:23:34.970 align:middle line:84%
beyond the frontiers
of colonial expansion.
00:23:34.970 --> 00:23:40.460 align:middle line:84%
I believe that Saartjie was
pressurized by Hendrik Cesars.
00:23:40.460 --> 00:23:45.200 align:middle line:84%
Primed and cued to give these
specific answers, such as A
00:23:45.200 --> 00:23:46.970 align:middle line:84%
stating her happiness
to be in Britain,
00:23:46.970 --> 00:23:50.550 align:middle line:84%
and B her contentment
at being with Cesars.
00:23:50.550 --> 00:23:53.980 align:middle line:90%
00:23:53.980 --> 00:24:00.490 align:middle line:84%
It can be imagined
that she was not
00:24:00.490 --> 00:24:03.155 align:middle line:84%
educated enough to
realize that she
00:24:03.155 --> 00:24:04.780 align:middle line:84%
might have been able
to fashion herself
00:24:04.780 --> 00:24:07.780 align:middle line:90%
a life away from Cesars.
00:24:07.780 --> 00:24:10.090 align:middle line:84%
We don\'t really know
what sort of influence
00:24:10.090 --> 00:24:13.300 align:middle line:84%
that he, Cesars
exerted over Saartjie,
00:24:13.300 --> 00:24:16.660 align:middle line:84%
but she did make
these utterances.
00:24:16.660 --> 00:24:19.030 align:middle line:84%
And the court stood
by those decisions.
00:24:19.030 --> 00:24:21.670 align:middle line:84%
She didn\'t want to go
back to the slavery, which
00:24:21.670 --> 00:24:24.310 align:middle line:84%
the governor had just
unwittingly imposed
00:24:24.310 --> 00:24:25.580 align:middle line:90%
upon her people.
00:24:25.580 --> 00:24:28.240 align:middle line:84%
She certainly knew the
story, almost certainly
00:24:28.240 --> 00:24:30.370 align:middle line:84%
must have known the story,
it was common in London
00:24:30.370 --> 00:24:33.640 align:middle line:84%
that American slaves brought
back here out of 1,000,
00:24:33.640 --> 00:24:36.490 align:middle line:90%
400 went back to Sierra Leone.
00:24:36.490 --> 00:24:40.330 align:middle line:84%
And within a very short period,
only 64 of them survived.
00:24:40.330 --> 00:24:43.990 align:middle line:84%
We didn\'t know about resistance
to disease and antibodies
00:24:43.990 --> 00:24:46.420 align:middle line:84%
that you build up and lose
through generations there.
00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.240 align:middle line:84%
She knew that if she went back
she was either a slave or dead,
00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:50.470 align:middle line:90%
I believe.
00:24:50.470 --> 00:24:51.610 align:middle line:90%
Of course she refused.
00:24:51.610 --> 00:24:53.200 align:middle line:90%
She was a sensible woman.
00:24:53.200 --> 00:24:56.500 align:middle line:84%
People tend to think of
her as this very, very
00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:58.460 align:middle line:90%
responsible, mature person.
00:24:58.460 --> 00:25:00.800 align:middle line:84%
No, she was a kid when
she went into exile.
00:25:00.800 --> 00:25:03.460 align:middle line:90%
00:25:03.460 --> 00:25:05.980 align:middle line:84%
After the introduction
of this new evidence,
00:25:05.980 --> 00:25:08.710 align:middle line:84%
it was clear that the three
members of the African
00:25:08.710 --> 00:25:11.620 align:middle line:90%
Institution had no case.
00:25:11.620 --> 00:25:16.000 align:middle line:84%
Lord Ellenborough, the presiding
magistrate summed up the case
00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:20.650 align:middle line:84%
by saying, \"if any immodest
or indecent exposure
00:25:20.650 --> 00:25:22.690 align:middle line:84%
of this female
stranger should take
00:25:22.690 --> 00:25:25.150 align:middle line:84%
place, those who
have the care of her
00:25:25.150 --> 00:25:27.370 align:middle line:84%
must know that the
law would direct
00:25:27.370 --> 00:25:31.690 align:middle line:84%
its arm with uplifted resentment
against the offending parties.\"
00:25:31.690 --> 00:25:34.300 align:middle line:84%
He then declared
the case closed.
00:25:34.300 --> 00:25:36.750 align:middle line:90%
[GAVEL BANGS]
00:25:36.750 --> 00:25:39.200 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:25:39.200 --> 00:25:42.640 align:middle line:90%
00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:45.550 align:middle line:84%
A few days after the
verdict, Sarah Baartman
00:25:45.550 --> 00:25:49.420 align:middle line:84%
and Hendrik Cesars disappeared
from London\'s stages.
00:25:49.420 --> 00:25:52.810 align:middle line:84%
They reappeared one year
later, in Manchester.
00:25:52.810 --> 00:25:55.720 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:59.600 align:middle line:90%
00:25:59.600 --> 00:26:01.880 align:middle line:84%
Fortunately for
Sarah, this wasn\'t
00:26:01.880 --> 00:26:04.450 align:middle line:90%
another sordid exhibition.
00:26:04.450 --> 00:26:08.105 align:middle line:84%
She was baptized on the
7th of December, 1811.
00:26:08.105 --> 00:26:10.805 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:26:10.805 --> 00:26:13.720 align:middle line:90%
00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:17.680 align:middle line:84%
Did this young woman believe
that by embracing Christianity
00:26:17.680 --> 00:26:20.530 align:middle line:90%
she would gain her freedom?
00:26:20.530 --> 00:26:24.160 align:middle line:84%
Or did Hendrik Cesars believe
that baptizing his Hottentot
00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:27.780 align:middle line:84%
Venus would gain
him respectability?
00:26:27.780 --> 00:26:31.100 align:middle line:90%
We will never know.
00:26:31.100 --> 00:26:34.370 align:middle line:84%
This baptism certificate
is the last trace
00:26:34.370 --> 00:26:36.545 align:middle line:84%
of Sarah Baartman\'s
stay in England.
00:26:36.545 --> 00:26:38.788 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:26:38.788 --> 00:26:50.460 align:middle line:90%
00:26:50.460 --> 00:26:52.470 align:middle line:84%
It will be nearly
three years later,
00:26:52.470 --> 00:26:55.830 align:middle line:84%
that Sarah and Hendrik
Cesars reappear.
00:26:55.830 --> 00:26:59.940 align:middle line:84%
In 1814, they left
England for France.
00:26:59.940 --> 00:27:03.450 align:middle line:90%
Why did Sarah accompany Cesars?
00:27:03.450 --> 00:27:05.970 align:middle line:84%
Was she under the illusion
that she was returning home?
00:27:05.970 --> 00:27:08.615 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:27:08.615 --> 00:27:13.780 align:middle line:90%
00:27:13.780 --> 00:27:16.190 align:middle line:90%
Now 24 years old.
00:27:16.190 --> 00:27:20.350 align:middle line:84%
Sarah must have believed
that the worst was over.
00:27:20.350 --> 00:27:23.860 align:middle line:84%
Little did she know that
Parisian newspapers were
00:27:23.860 --> 00:27:26.950 align:middle line:84%
already announcing
her imminent arrival.
00:27:26.950 --> 00:27:30.940 align:middle line:84%
Little did she know that
the show was to go on.
00:27:30.940 --> 00:27:35.365 align:middle line:84%
Little did she know that in
18 months, she would be dead.
00:27:35.365 --> 00:27:38.680 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:27:38.680 --> 00:27:47.180 align:middle line:90%
00:27:47.180 --> 00:27:48.290 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:27:48.290 --> 00:29:06.530 align:middle line:90%
00:29:06.530 --> 00:29:09.230 align:middle line:84%
There is no better place
in the whole world.
00:29:09.230 --> 00:29:14.290 align:middle line:84%
Palais-Royal will fulfill
your wildest fantasies.
00:29:14.290 --> 00:29:17.770 align:middle line:84%
The latest fashions, art
galleries, gambling houses,
00:29:17.770 --> 00:29:20.470 align:middle line:84%
theaters, music, the
best restaurants,
00:29:20.470 --> 00:29:24.490 align:middle line:84%
brothels Palais-Royal
has it all.
00:29:24.490 --> 00:29:28.090 align:middle line:84%
This is how a French journalist
described the only place
00:29:28.090 --> 00:29:30.790 align:middle line:90%
to rival Piccadilly of London.
00:29:30.790 --> 00:29:34.810 align:middle line:84%
We are at the beginning
of September 1814.
00:29:34.810 --> 00:29:38.410 align:middle line:84%
Hendrik Cesars brought Sarah
through the majestic gardens
00:29:38.410 --> 00:29:42.480 align:middle line:84%
of the Palais-Royal and
there they entered a shop.
00:29:42.480 --> 00:29:45.540 align:middle line:84%
He sold Sarah to an animal
trainer named Réaux,
00:29:45.540 --> 00:29:49.800 align:middle line:84%
and disappeared from
her life forever.
00:29:49.800 --> 00:29:53.520 align:middle line:84%
Just across the gardens,
Réaux found the best place
00:29:53.520 --> 00:29:56.190 align:middle line:90%
for his latest attraction.
00:29:56.190 --> 00:30:00.030 align:middle line:84%
On the 18th of September,
the \"Journal Du Paris\"
00:30:00.030 --> 00:30:03.060 align:middle line:90%
ran the following article.
00:30:03.060 --> 00:30:06.510 align:middle line:84%
\"Just arrived from London
is the Hottentot Venus.
00:30:06.510 --> 00:30:09.750 align:middle line:84%
She is to be seen at
number 15, Rue Neuve de
00:30:09.750 --> 00:30:15.030 align:middle line:84%
Petition from 11:00 AM till 9:00
PM, admittance three francs.\"
00:30:15.030 --> 00:30:17.760 align:middle line:90%
00:30:17.760 --> 00:31:13.980 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:31:13.980 --> 00:31:17.190 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:31:17.190 --> 00:31:19.800 align:middle line:84%
At a typically chic
Parisian dinner,
00:31:19.800 --> 00:31:22.740 align:middle line:84%
where Sarah appeared
as the special guest,
00:31:22.740 --> 00:31:25.050 align:middle line:84%
a French journalist
recorded the encounter.
00:31:25.050 --> 00:31:27.840 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:31:27.840 --> 00:31:29.760 align:middle line:90%
00:31:29.760 --> 00:31:32.760 align:middle line:84%
Someone announces that
a marvel was to come.
00:31:32.760 --> 00:31:34.710 align:middle line:84%
The doors opened,
and you could see
00:31:34.710 --> 00:31:37.140 align:middle line:90%
the Hottentot Venus appearing.
00:31:37.140 --> 00:31:39.420 align:middle line:84%
At her sight, all
our ladies huddle
00:31:39.420 --> 00:31:41.340 align:middle line:90%
and hide behind a curtain.
00:31:41.340 --> 00:31:45.240 align:middle line:84%
This poor Venus notices
and grows sullen.
00:31:45.240 --> 00:31:47.040 align:middle line:90%
Her head leans on her chest.
00:31:47.040 --> 00:31:49.230 align:middle line:90%
Tears fall from her eyes.
00:31:49.230 --> 00:31:52.230 align:middle line:84%
She wears skin-color
tight clothes.
00:31:52.230 --> 00:31:54.780 align:middle line:84%
Her face is flat, and
her nose is small,
00:31:54.780 --> 00:31:57.370 align:middle line:90%
but she has huge hips.
00:31:57.370 --> 00:31:59.940 align:middle line:90%
This is a Callipyge Venus.
00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:02.100 align:middle line:84%
Her feet are small,
her legs short,
00:32:02.100 --> 00:32:04.800 align:middle line:84%
and her complexion
is light green.
00:32:04.800 --> 00:32:09.210 align:middle line:84%
To summarize, this is not a very
appealing Venus, even more so
00:32:09.210 --> 00:32:12.810 align:middle line:90%
after seeing the Medici Venus.
00:32:12.810 --> 00:32:16.710 align:middle line:84%
She jumps, she sings,
she plays Basque drums.
00:32:16.710 --> 00:32:18.870 align:middle line:84%
Someone gives her
sweets to encourage
00:32:18.870 --> 00:32:21.840 align:middle line:84%
her to do this or that
trick in her manner.
00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:26.370 align:middle line:84%
She is like any other
woman, a little stubborn.
00:32:26.370 --> 00:32:28.750 align:middle line:90%
Sometimes she sulks for nothing.
00:32:28.750 --> 00:32:30.670 align:middle line:90%
She gets angry for nothing.
00:32:30.670 --> 00:32:34.600 align:middle line:84%
Her mood changes, though,
when you compliment her.
00:32:34.600 --> 00:32:37.870 align:middle line:84%
Around her neck, she wears a
tiny piece of turtle shell.
00:32:37.870 --> 00:32:41.830 align:middle line:84%
She often holds it between her
two hands, puts it to her lips,
00:32:41.830 --> 00:32:43.900 align:middle line:90%
and looks up to the sky.
00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:44.800 align:middle line:90%
I was moved.
00:32:44.800 --> 00:32:47.098 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:32:47.098 --> 00:32:50.050 align:middle line:90%
00:32:50.050 --> 00:32:53.290 align:middle line:84%
When the exhibition was
over, I offered this stranger
00:32:53.290 --> 00:32:56.470 align:middle line:84%
a ride home so that she
could recount her own story.
00:32:56.470 --> 00:32:59.270 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:32:59.270 --> 00:33:02.240 align:middle line:90%
00:33:02.240 --> 00:33:06.080 align:middle line:84%
My name is Sarah,
very unhappy Sarah
00:33:06.080 --> 00:33:09.110 align:middle line:90%
who did not deserve her fate.
00:33:09.110 --> 00:33:12.110 align:middle line:84%
My father was the
head of the hunters,
00:33:12.110 --> 00:33:16.490 align:middle line:84%
and my mother was the one who
organized our festivities.
00:33:16.490 --> 00:33:20.050 align:middle line:90%
Everybody wanted to marry me.
00:33:20.050 --> 00:33:23.410 align:middle line:84%
Solkar was the
one, among others,
00:33:23.410 --> 00:33:26.230 align:middle line:84%
who touched my heart
with his words.
00:33:26.230 --> 00:33:28.570 align:middle line:90%
Our union was decided.
00:33:28.570 --> 00:33:30.490 align:middle line:90%
The day was chosen.
00:33:30.490 --> 00:33:32.920 align:middle line:90%
The tribe was gathered.
00:33:32.920 --> 00:33:35.770 align:middle line:84%
The fires were lit
on the mountains.
00:33:35.770 --> 00:33:39.550 align:middle line:84%
It was these fires
that betrayed us.
00:33:39.550 --> 00:33:42.410 align:middle line:90%
A terrible battle broke out.
00:33:42.410 --> 00:33:44.710 align:middle line:84%
I was separated
from my companions.
00:33:44.710 --> 00:33:47.440 align:middle line:90%
00:33:47.440 --> 00:33:53.680 align:middle line:84%
Alas, I will not ever see
again this sacred land.
00:33:53.680 --> 00:33:57.880 align:middle line:84%
Poor Sarah your husband,
your father, your family,
00:33:57.880 --> 00:33:59.110 align:middle line:90%
everyone is lost.
00:33:59.110 --> 00:34:01.940 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:12.810 align:middle line:90%
00:34:12.810 --> 00:34:15.150 align:middle line:84%
The current stops
and we got off.
00:34:15.150 --> 00:34:18.510 align:middle line:84%
I left the stranger, and I was
deeply touched by her sorrows
00:34:18.510 --> 00:34:21.210 align:middle line:90%
but couldn\'t find a remedy.
00:34:21.210 --> 00:34:24.719 align:middle line:84%
Imagine, I said to myself, a
young French woman who sees
00:34:24.719 --> 00:34:26.670 align:middle line:84%
barbarians landing
on the beaches.
00:34:26.670 --> 00:34:28.830 align:middle line:84%
They abductor to
an African port.
00:34:28.830 --> 00:34:30.989 align:middle line:84%
There, she falls into
the hands of an Arab
00:34:30.989 --> 00:34:34.710 align:middle line:84%
who displays her to her
savages as the Parisian Venus.
00:34:34.710 --> 00:34:38.460 align:middle line:84%
She cries, and she calls for
her dear country hopelessly.
00:34:38.460 --> 00:34:42.320 align:middle line:84%
She must die far from the
people who cherish her.
00:34:42.320 --> 00:34:45.590 align:middle line:84%
This is the face of
the Hottentot Venus.
00:34:45.590 --> 00:34:47.719 align:middle line:84%
Her popularity in
the French capital,
00:34:47.719 --> 00:34:50.960 align:middle line:84%
not only satisfied the
curiosity of the public,
00:34:50.960 --> 00:34:54.409 align:middle line:84%
others were prepared to
pay a great deal of money
00:34:54.409 --> 00:34:58.670 align:middle line:84%
for the opportunity to
observe an authentic Hottentot
00:34:58.670 --> 00:35:00.005 align:middle line:90%
in a quiet space.
00:35:00.005 --> 00:35:01.280 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:35:01.280 --> 00:35:37.330 align:middle line:90%
00:35:37.330 --> 00:35:41.320 align:middle line:84%
In the Cold Spring of
1815, Sarah Baartman
00:35:41.320 --> 00:35:45.640 align:middle line:84%
was observed by Georges Cuvier,
de Blainville, and Geoffroy
00:35:45.640 --> 00:35:49.620 align:middle line:84%
Saint-Hilaire at the
Jardin Du Plantes.
00:35:49.620 --> 00:35:52.170 align:middle line:84%
Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
had requested
00:35:52.170 --> 00:35:56.400 align:middle line:84%
that Réaux make Sarah available
for scientific examination
00:35:56.400 --> 00:35:59.310 align:middle line:84%
at the Museum of
Natural History.
00:35:59.310 --> 00:36:03.240 align:middle line:84%
Four artists were commissioned
to draw portraits of her.
00:36:03.240 --> 00:36:08.130 align:middle line:84%
These three scientists had long
heard rumor of the Hottentot
00:36:08.130 --> 00:36:12.150 align:middle line:84%
apron, dubbed so from the
accounts of early explorers
00:36:12.150 --> 00:36:16.860 align:middle line:84%
describing the genitalia
of Hottentot women.
00:36:16.860 --> 00:36:19.590 align:middle line:84%
Cuvier seems to have
been disappointed
00:36:19.590 --> 00:36:22.260 align:middle line:90%
by this first observation.
00:36:22.260 --> 00:36:24.690 align:middle line:84%
During this first
inspection, we couldn\'t
00:36:24.690 --> 00:36:28.780 align:middle line:84%
observe the most remarkable
particularity of her anatomy.
00:36:28.780 --> 00:36:32.140 align:middle line:84%
She hid her apron carefully
between her thighs.
00:36:32.140 --> 00:36:36.010 align:middle line:84%
Her movements were brusque and
capricious, like those of apes.
00:36:36.010 --> 00:36:39.520 align:middle line:84%
She had great, pendular
breasts, and the unsightly habit
00:36:39.520 --> 00:36:43.750 align:middle line:84%
of making her lips
protrude, like an orangutan.
00:36:43.750 --> 00:36:47.080 align:middle line:84%
Her thigh bones were heavy
and short like an animal\'s.
00:36:47.080 --> 00:36:49.870 align:middle line:84%
Her upper thighs were
spindly and delicate
00:36:49.870 --> 00:36:54.400 align:middle line:84%
like those of apes, dogs,
and other carnivores.
00:36:54.400 --> 00:36:57.700 align:middle line:84%
de Blainville\'s account
is different, however
00:36:57.700 --> 00:37:00.310 align:middle line:84%
and is unique in
revealing something
00:37:00.310 --> 00:37:04.780 align:middle line:84%
of what actually went on during
those three days that spring.
00:37:04.780 --> 00:37:08.230 align:middle line:84%
According to him, the three
men had great difficulty
00:37:08.230 --> 00:37:12.100 align:middle line:84%
in convincing Sarah to
let herself be seen nude.
00:37:12.100 --> 00:37:15.610 align:middle line:84%
It was only with great
sorrow that she let drop
00:37:15.610 --> 00:37:18.520 align:middle line:84%
for a moment, the
handkerchief with which she
00:37:18.520 --> 00:37:20.650 align:middle line:90%
had been covering her genitals.
00:37:20.650 --> 00:37:22.660 align:middle line:84%
At one point, he
offered her money
00:37:22.660 --> 00:37:26.140 align:middle line:84%
knowing how much she liked
it hoping in this way,
00:37:26.140 --> 00:37:28.060 align:middle line:90%
to render her more docile.
00:37:28.060 --> 00:37:30.672 align:middle line:90%
But she refused to take it.
00:37:30.672 --> 00:37:33.384 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:37:33.384 --> 00:37:36.460 align:middle line:90%
00:37:36.460 --> 00:37:39.250 align:middle line:84%
After the three days of
observation at the Jardin Du
00:37:39.250 --> 00:37:43.450 align:middle line:84%
Plante, Saint-Hilaire,
at the request of Réaux,
00:37:43.450 --> 00:37:48.130 align:middle line:84%
wrote a certificate detailing
his account of the observation.
00:37:48.130 --> 00:37:49.630 align:middle line:90%
He wrote.
00:37:49.630 --> 00:37:52.960 align:middle line:84%
This woman presents a
singularly remarkable trait,
00:37:52.960 --> 00:37:55.660 align:middle line:84%
the prodigious volume
of her buttocks.
00:37:55.660 --> 00:37:57.520 align:middle line:84%
But we will not dwell
on this feature,
00:37:57.520 --> 00:38:00.710 align:middle line:84%
as it can be noticed
through direct observation.
00:38:00.710 --> 00:38:03.310 align:middle line:84%
We noticed that when
female apes have disorders
00:38:03.310 --> 00:38:05.500 align:middle line:84%
in their menstrual
cycle, this disorder
00:38:05.500 --> 00:38:08.470 align:middle line:84%
makes them develop buttocks
proportional to the ones we
00:38:08.470 --> 00:38:11.584 align:middle line:90%
noticed on the Hottentot woman.
00:38:11.584 --> 00:38:14.355 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:38:14.355 --> 00:38:23.970 align:middle line:90%
00:38:23.970 --> 00:38:25.090 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:38:25.090 --> 00:39:10.090 align:middle line:90%
00:39:10.090 --> 00:39:12.280 align:middle line:84%
In the 18th century, they
had for the longest time
00:39:12.280 --> 00:39:15.650 align:middle line:84%
then believed to be
a different species.
00:39:15.650 --> 00:39:20.140 align:middle line:84%
And very much the obsession,
the white obsession
00:39:20.140 --> 00:39:23.890 align:middle line:84%
with the genitalia and
with their bodily function
00:39:23.890 --> 00:39:26.830 align:middle line:84%
was very much an obsession
of trying to decide,
00:39:26.830 --> 00:39:28.600 align:middle line:90%
where does the line go?
00:39:28.600 --> 00:39:32.530 align:middle line:84%
At what point, does human
stop and animal begin?
00:39:32.530 --> 00:39:35.230 align:middle line:84%
And for some reason,
this was a question
00:39:35.230 --> 00:39:38.050 align:middle line:84%
that was very important to
18th and 19th century Europe
00:39:38.050 --> 00:39:39.400 align:middle line:90%
to answer.
00:39:39.400 --> 00:39:41.770 align:middle line:84%
There was a great
sense of the need
00:39:41.770 --> 00:39:47.470 align:middle line:84%
to classify everybody, long
before the South African race
00:39:47.470 --> 00:39:51.400 align:middle line:84%
classification act of
the apartheid era, long
00:39:51.400 --> 00:39:59.380 align:middle line:84%
before then, going back to 1735
in Sweden, when Linnaeus tried
00:39:59.380 --> 00:40:05.740 align:middle line:84%
to classify everything in the
whole world stones, bones,
00:40:05.740 --> 00:40:09.770 align:middle line:90%
animals, plants, people.
00:40:09.770 --> 00:40:13.030 align:middle line:84%
And so the question
was, in the minds
00:40:13.030 --> 00:40:16.960 align:middle line:84%
of these European
anthropologists
00:40:16.960 --> 00:40:23.260 align:middle line:84%
and comparative anatomists,
were the Khoisan people--
00:40:23.260 --> 00:40:26.860 align:middle line:84%
were they part of
the human family?
00:40:26.860 --> 00:40:29.800 align:middle line:90%
Did they belong to our species?
00:40:29.800 --> 00:40:31.510 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:40:31.510 --> 00:40:39.400 align:middle line:84%
(SINGING) In the
distance, stands my spirit
00:40:39.400 --> 00:40:43.900 align:middle line:84%
observing what has
become of this body.
00:40:43.900 --> 00:40:47.350 align:middle line:84%
Three months before her supposed
contract with Hendrick Cesars
00:40:47.350 --> 00:40:50.320 align:middle line:84%
was to have expired,
Sarah Baartman
00:40:50.320 --> 00:40:52.970 align:middle line:90%
died in the house of Réaux.
00:40:52.970 --> 00:40:55.450 align:middle line:90%
She was 25 years old.
00:40:55.450 --> 00:40:59.380 align:middle line:84%
(SINGING) It is all
that remains that I am--
00:40:59.380 --> 00:41:04.780 align:middle line:84%
Sarah Baartman has died on
the 1st of January, 1816.
00:41:04.780 --> 00:41:07.270 align:middle line:84%
Her corpse has been
given by Mr. Réaux
00:41:07.270 --> 00:41:09.610 align:middle line:84%
to the Museum of
Natural History, where
00:41:09.610 --> 00:41:13.970 align:middle line:84%
her skeleton and a plaster cast
of her body will be preserved.
00:41:13.970 --> 00:41:45.990 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:41:45.990 --> 00:41:50.160 align:middle line:84%
Georges Cuvier made a
plaster cast of her body.
00:41:50.160 --> 00:41:54.270 align:middle line:84%
Her brain was removed and
stored in a glass jar.
00:41:54.270 --> 00:41:57.840 align:middle line:84%
Her genitals were cut
out and also preserved.
00:41:57.840 --> 00:42:02.040 align:middle line:84%
Her skeleton stands to this
very day, in perfect condition,
00:42:02.040 --> 00:42:04.365 align:middle line:84%
at the Musée de
l\'Homme in Paris.
00:42:04.365 --> 00:42:06.736 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:42:06.736 --> 00:42:12.230 align:middle line:90%
00:42:12.230 --> 00:42:16.070 align:middle line:84%
After his dissection, Cuvier
presented his findings
00:42:16.070 --> 00:42:18.950 align:middle line:90%
to the Academy of Science.
00:42:18.950 --> 00:42:21.650 align:middle line:84%
I have the honor of
presenting to the Academy
00:42:21.650 --> 00:42:24.800 align:middle line:84%
the genitals of this woman
prepared in such a way
00:42:24.800 --> 00:42:28.050 align:middle line:84%
as to leave no doubt about the
exact nature of the Hottentot
00:42:28.050 --> 00:42:28.550 align:middle line:90%
apron.
00:42:28.550 --> 00:42:31.160 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:42:31.160 --> 00:42:35.490 align:middle line:90%
00:42:35.490 --> 00:43:22.552 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:43:22.552 --> 00:43:27.470 align:middle line:90%
00:43:27.470 --> 00:43:32.470 align:middle line:84%
Scientific racism
originated very much
00:43:32.470 --> 00:43:34.630 align:middle line:84%
in the post Sarah
Baartman period.
00:43:34.630 --> 00:43:37.090 align:middle line:84%
Like I say, it was
built on her body.
00:43:37.090 --> 00:43:39.400 align:middle line:84%
These forms of conclusions,
this type of theory
00:43:39.400 --> 00:43:42.520 align:middle line:84%
was built upon the body of
her and the many women that
00:43:42.520 --> 00:43:43.120 align:middle line:90%
followed her.
00:43:43.120 --> 00:43:45.730 align:middle line:84%
I mean, there have been at
least another five Hottentot
00:43:45.730 --> 00:43:47.275 align:middle line:90%
witnesses in the 19th century.
00:43:47.275 --> 00:43:49.915 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:43:49.915 --> 00:43:50.800 align:middle line:90%
00:43:50.800 --> 00:43:53.410 align:middle line:84%
Sarah Baartman\'s
skeleton and plaster cast
00:43:53.410 --> 00:43:58.360 align:middle line:84%
were on public display at the
Musée de l\'Homme until 1974.
00:43:58.360 --> 00:44:03.370 align:middle line:84%
Surprisingly though, her brain
and genitals have disappeared.
00:44:03.370 --> 00:44:08.200 align:middle line:84%
Is it possible that Sarah\'s
missing organs are here
00:44:08.200 --> 00:44:10.990 align:middle line:84%
among these many
anonymous bottles
00:44:10.990 --> 00:44:14.695 align:middle line:84%
still under the watchful
eyes of Georges Cuvier?
00:44:14.695 --> 00:44:17.665 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:44:17.665 --> 00:44:24.010 align:middle line:90%
00:44:24.010 --> 00:44:25.390 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:44:25.390 --> 00:45:17.770 align:middle line:90%
00:45:17.770 --> 00:45:20.192 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:45:20.192 --> 00:45:31.500 align:middle line:90%
00:45:31.500 --> 00:45:33.790 align:middle line:84%
Well, she must be
buried, of course.
00:45:33.790 --> 00:45:36.450 align:middle line:90%
She must be buried.
00:45:36.450 --> 00:45:44.160 align:middle line:84%
Khoikhoi religious belief would
say that her soul cannot be
00:45:44.160 --> 00:45:46.270 align:middle line:84%
at rest until her
body is respected.
00:45:46.270 --> 00:45:49.560 align:middle line:84%
I mean, to put in a glass case,
to chop a body up to pieces,
00:45:49.560 --> 00:45:52.110 align:middle line:84%
and put various parts of
it in various glass cases,
00:45:52.110 --> 00:45:56.100 align:middle line:84%
and let people come
see it, there is just
00:45:56.100 --> 00:45:58.860 align:middle line:90%
no way it can be respectful.
00:45:58.860 --> 00:46:02.280 align:middle line:84%
In Khoikhoi culture
it is not respectful.
00:46:02.280 --> 00:46:08.430 align:middle line:84%
And certainly, although
her soul has left her body,
00:46:08.430 --> 00:46:10.260 align:middle line:84%
in Khoikhoi religious
belief the body
00:46:10.260 --> 00:46:13.830 align:middle line:84%
itself has to be the focus of
certain religious observances.
00:46:13.830 --> 00:46:15.450 align:middle line:84%
The very fact that
these observances
00:46:15.450 --> 00:46:21.730 align:middle line:84%
are not taking place for almost
two centuries, it is wrong.
00:46:21.730 --> 00:46:22.300 align:middle line:90%
It is bad.
00:46:22.300 --> 00:46:24.310 align:middle line:84%
It is bad for her
spirit, and it is
00:46:24.310 --> 00:46:28.850 align:middle line:84%
bad for the spirit of everyone
that had a hand in it.
00:46:28.850 --> 00:46:34.850 align:middle line:84%
We are negotiating
with the French museum
00:46:34.850 --> 00:46:37.730 align:middle line:90%
and governmental authorities.
00:46:37.730 --> 00:46:46.070 align:middle line:84%
And the negotiations, at this
moment, are still ongoing.
00:46:46.070 --> 00:46:50.980 align:middle line:84%
It is the hope of many
of us that because
00:46:50.980 --> 00:46:56.080 align:middle line:84%
of the profound political
and symbolic and historical
00:46:56.080 --> 00:47:01.700 align:middle line:84%
significance, which would
follow the return of Saartjie
00:47:01.700 --> 00:47:08.140 align:middle line:84%
Baartman\'s remains, that
they should be returned.
00:47:08.140 --> 00:47:13.630 align:middle line:84%
I have no doubt in my mind
that this is the ideal thing
00:47:13.630 --> 00:47:22.120 align:middle line:84%
to do to bring them back to the
land of her birth in dignity
00:47:22.120 --> 00:47:32.050 align:middle line:84%
and respect for what was
the remains of a person who
00:47:32.050 --> 00:47:38.360 align:middle line:84%
had been treated with indignity
and disrespect in her lifetime.
00:47:38.360 --> 00:47:42.880 align:middle line:84%
And so I feel,
very emphatically,
00:47:42.880 --> 00:47:47.470 align:middle line:84%
that those remains should
come back to South Africa.
00:47:47.470 --> 00:47:56.990 align:middle line:84%
Now, the question is, to whom
should the remains be returned?
00:47:56.990 --> 00:47:59.950 align:middle line:84%
And there is no
doubt in my mind they
00:47:59.950 --> 00:48:04.000 align:middle line:84%
should be returned to the
South African government.
00:48:04.000 --> 00:48:05.350 align:middle line:90%
[SPEAKING FRENCH]
00:48:05.350 --> 00:49:07.370 align:middle line:90%
00:49:07.370 --> 00:49:09.640 align:middle line:84%
I am not going to
suggest that everybody
00:49:09.640 --> 00:49:13.090 align:middle line:84%
who has ever been dug up should
be put back into the ground.
00:49:13.090 --> 00:49:15.670 align:middle line:84%
Science would come
to a standstill
00:49:15.670 --> 00:49:17.230 align:middle line:90%
if that were followed.
00:49:17.230 --> 00:49:19.960 align:middle line:84%
But I believe that
the government
00:49:19.960 --> 00:49:23.620 align:middle line:84%
could erect a shrine
for her perhaps
00:49:23.620 --> 00:49:30.930 align:middle line:84%
in Cape Town, from which
she was recruited to Britain
00:49:30.930 --> 00:49:35.220 align:middle line:84%
at which Khoi-San
people themselves, could
00:49:35.220 --> 00:49:39.750 align:middle line:84%
be the curators and
custodians of her remains,
00:49:39.750 --> 00:49:46.680 align:middle line:84%
with panels reflecting this
tragic history of Saartjie
00:49:46.680 --> 00:49:48.750 align:middle line:90%
Baartman, the Hottentot Venus.
00:49:48.750 --> 00:49:49.980 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:49:49.980 --> 00:49:53.280 align:middle line:84%
(SINGING) I\'m going
back to Africa.
00:49:53.280 --> 00:49:59.638 align:middle line:90%
00:49:59.638 --> 00:50:04.020 align:middle line:84%
I\'m going back that\'s
where I belong.
00:50:04.020 --> 00:50:10.050 align:middle line:90%
00:50:10.050 --> 00:50:17.570 align:middle line:84%
Beautiful faces, beautiful
country, beautiful future,
00:50:17.570 --> 00:50:24.010 align:middle line:84%
African music I\'m
going back to Africa.
00:50:24.010 --> 00:50:32.360 align:middle line:90%
00:50:32.360 --> 00:50:34.910 align:middle line:84%
The differences between the
South African government
00:50:34.910 --> 00:50:38.210 align:middle line:84%
and the descendants of
the Khoi people over
00:50:38.210 --> 00:50:42.300 align:middle line:84%
who owns Sarah Baartman
have been resolved.
00:50:42.300 --> 00:50:44.310 align:middle line:84%
What has been agreed
is that she must
00:50:44.310 --> 00:50:46.440 align:middle line:84%
be returned to her
motherland, where
00:50:46.440 --> 00:50:50.890 align:middle line:84%
her story must be preserved
for future generations.
00:50:50.890 --> 00:50:54.960 align:middle line:84%
The question still remains,
will she be returned?
00:50:54.960 --> 00:50:57.954 align:middle line:90%
[MUSIC PLAYING]
00:50:57.954 --> 00:51:20.410 align:middle line:90%
00:51:20.410 --> 00:51:23.965 align:middle line:84%
(SINGING) I\'m going
back to Africa.
00:51:23.965 --> 00:51:30.250 align:middle line:90%
00:51:30.250 --> 00:51:34.405 align:middle line:84%
I\'m going back that\'s
where I belong.
00:51:34.405 --> 00:51:39.826 align:middle line:90%
00:51:39.826 --> 00:51:47.530 align:middle line:84%
Beautiful faces, beautiful
country, beautiful people,
00:51:47.530 --> 00:51:53.650 align:middle line:84%
African music I\'m
going back to Africa.
00:51:53.650 --> 00:51:59.551 align:middle line:90%
00:51:59.551 --> 00:52:03.436 align:middle line:90%
I\'m going back to Africa.
00:52:03.436 --> 00:52:09.860 align:middle line:90%
00:52:09.860 --> 00:52:13.415 align:middle line:90%
I\'m going back to Africa.
00:52:13.415 --> 00:52:19.500 align:middle line:90%
00:52:19.500 --> 00:52:22.882 align:middle line:90%
I\'m going back to Africa.
00:52:22.882 --> 00:52:28.980 align:middle line:90%
00:52:28.980 --> 00:52:32.710 align:middle line:90%
I\'m going back to Africa.
00:52:32.710 --> 00:52:35.760 align:middle line:90%
[LAUGHTER]
00:52:35.760 --> 00:52:37.868 align:middle line:90%
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 53 minutes
Date: 1998
Genre: Expository
Language: English; French
Grade: 10-12, College, Adult
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Interactive Transcript: Available
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The Return of Sara Baartman
