Bamboula's Village () was an attempt to recreate an

Ivory Coast Ivory Coast, also known as Côte d'Ivoire and officially the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, is a country on the southern coast of West Africa. Its capital city of Yamoussoukro is located in the centre of the country, while its largest List of ci ...

village within the Planète Sauvage zoo (then known as Safari Africain) in

Port-Saint-Père Port-Saint-Père (; ) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Geography Port-Saint-Père is situated on the west bank of the Acheneau, northwest of the Lac de Grand-Lieu. Population Sights * Planète Sauvage, sa ...

, near

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is considered

human zoo Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were a colonial practice of publicly displaying people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays of ...

in France. In 1994, the biscuit brand

Biscuiterie Saint-Michel Biscuiterie Saint-Michel is a French food company, a subsidiary of St Michel Biscuits, which produces and markets dry pastries (cookies) under the St-Michel brand name. It was founded in 1905 in the coastal town of Saint-Michel-Chef-Chef, where is ...

teamed up with the safari park to create the village, naming it "Bamboula's Village" after its "

Bamboula A bamboula is a type of drum made from a rum barrel with skin stretched over one end. It is also a dance accompanied by music from these drums. History Originating in Africa, the bamboula form appears in a Haitian song in 1757 and bamboula be ...

" chocolate biscuits, which had a

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, sports team, university society, society, military unit, or brand, brand name. Mascots are als ...

with the same name (a

racial slur The following is a list of ethnic slurs, ethnophaulisms, or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnic, national, or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejor ...

, dating from

colonial times The ''Colonial Times'' was a newspaper in what is now the Australian state of Tasmania. It was established as the ''Colonial Times, and Tasmanian Advertiser'' in 1825 in Hobart, Van Diemen's Land Van Diemen's Land was the colon ...

). The village was constructed in the winter of 1993.

Working conditions

Twenty-five Ivorians, including children, were hired for six months to build and inhabit the village. They performed every day of the week, and received pay below the French

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

. Dancers were forced to work bare-chested despite bad weather. Performers' passports were confiscated; most lived confined to their huts (the park gate being closed in the evenings), which provided less space than required by labour law. Children were kept out of school, while medical care was provided by the zoo's

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet) or veterinary surgeon is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, veterinarians also play a role in animal r ...

Opposition

Anti-racist Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and delibera ...

organisations and unions formed the group "Non à la réserve humaine" No to the Human Zoo"and began legal action against the park. By the time that the court had sent an expert to document human-rights violations, the performers had been ordered out of the country. The village was closed in September of 1994. The park had to pay a symbolic one

French franc The franc (; , ; currency sign, sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amoun ...

in damages, plus legal fees.

Aftermath

Bamboula's Village was demolished, and the Bamboula chocolate biscuit was no longer sold.

References

September 1994 in France Tourism in France Zoos in France Racism in France Francophonie 1993 establishments in France 1994 disestablishments in France 1993 controversies 1994 controversies France–Ivory Coast relations Anti-black racism in France Demolished buildings and structures in France {{France-hist-stub