PARIS.- An exhibition titled "Mission Dakar-Djibouti (1931-1933): Counter-Investigations" is currently on view, delving into one of the most iconic yet ethically complex ethnographic expeditions in French history. Hosted at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, the exhibition draws upon the vast African collections that originated from the original mission, offering a contemporary re-examination of its journey and legacy.

The historical mission, led by French ethnologist Marcel Griaule and officially named the "Dakar-Djibouti ethnographic and linguistic mission," took place from 1931 to 1933. It traversed fifteen African countries, from west to east, including present-day Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Djibouti. At the time, most of these regions were under European colonial rule, with the notable exception of independent Ethiopia.

The mission was presented as a pioneering scientific endeavor, aiming to introduce innovative ethnographic survey methods in France. Its stated goal was to collect information, images, and objects from African cultures that were believed to be on the verge of disappearing under the pressures of colonization. The eleven-member team gathered an immense collection for three major Parisian institutions: the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, the Musée d’ethnographie du Trocadéro, and the Bibliothèque nationale. This included approximately 3,600 objects, 6,600 naturalistic specimens, 370 manuscripts, 70 human remains, nearly 6,000 photographs, sound recordings, films, and over 15,000 survey sheets.

However, the mission operated within a colonial framework, and its practices have long raised significant ethical questions, particularly concerning the conditions under which objects were acquired and the inherent power imbalances between the colonizers and the colonized populations.

The current exhibition confronts these historical complexities directly through a methodology of "counter-investigations." This involves a collaborative research effort by African and French scientists, drawing on archives from multiple institutions, contemporary testimonies from the localities the original mission passed through, and expertise from scientific bodies in both African countries and France. These counter-investigations aim to update the historical narrative, trace the specific conditions under which cultural goods were acquired, shed light on the stories of African individuals – interpreters, informants, artisans, and leaders – who remained largely anonymous in the original mission's records, and offer a contemporary perspective on the expedition.

Featuring a selection of approximately 350 objects, photographs, naturalistic specimens, and archives, the exhibition is organized into several thematic sections that provide a progressive and critical reading of the Dakar-Djibouti mission.

The tour begins with a presentation of a pirogue and its accessories acquired in Dakar in 1931, displayed alongside a contemporary reconstruction of its original sail – a result of a Franco-Senegalese collaborative project. A contextual section follows, presenting original archives that illustrate the realities of African colonization, the political landscape of the time, and the position of Africa within Parisian cultural and scientific circles in 1931. This section also examines the mission's project archives and introduces the mission's scope, referencing the writings of its members, including Michel Leiris's critical diary, L'Afrique fantôme, which revealed tensions and controversial practices.

The exhibition then traces the mission's itinerary through a selection of emblematic objects and explores the classification methods used, highlighting their contribution to the emergence of disciplines like ethnomusicology. The section addresses all modalities of acquisition, including purchases, donations, commissions, exchanges, and excavations, but also explicitly confronts unauthorized removals such as thefts and requisitions, illustrating each with specific objects.

Another key section is dedicated to the participants of the mission, both European, with a focus on ethnologist Deborah Lifchitz, and African. Through photographs and biographies, the exhibition brings visibility to interpreters, informants, artisans, artists, kings, sultans, and canton chiefs who were previously marginalized in the mission's documentation. It also acknowledges blind spots, such as the notable absence of Islam in the mission's surveys. The concluding section presents objects, photographs, and archives that reflect on the century that has passed since the mission and explore current African perspectives on this historical heritage.

This unique exhibition aims to foster a cross-cutting view on the history of science, African material cultures, and colonial history. As a collective scientific and heritage project, it was developed by a team of researchers and curators from France and five of the fifteen countries visited by the original mission, with support from numerous institutions and government ministries in France. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue, and parts of the counter-investigations are accessible online, further extending the dialogue initiated by the exhibition.