Thomas G. Moses painted scenery for the Java, Lapland and South Seas Islanders attractions at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. These cultural displays attempted to depict “natives” in their original habitat. In many ways it was a human zoo for curious westerners. We are still fascinated with examining other cultures in “safe spaces” or on our own turf. The countries in Walt Disney’s Epcot is one example and Minnesota’s “Festival of Nations” another. We get to experience the people, products and foods from far away in the comfort of our own backyard. Just as the displays are constructed for today’s entertainment, a variety of artisans helped to stage each Midway Plaisance attraction. In 1893, Moses provided painted backgrounds to suggested the country of origin for various dances and performances.
The Javanese village at the Columbian Exposition was encircled by a very tall bamboo fence. Inside were huts that housed over one hundred men and thirty-six women. The structures were built on stilts and characteristic of those found near the Preanger Regencies in West Java. The attraction included thirty-six houses, a bazaar, kiosk, coffee-house, temple and theater. The decorative patterns of the community’s buildings were a source of constant interest by fairgoers.
Near each home, the inhabitants acted out scenes from daily life. This included carving, weaving, batik work, rolling cigarettes, handling coffee, and making silk. A variety of items were created from bamboo, palm leaves, rattan, chinchona, and teawood.
In the center of the settlement was an aloon-aloon, or public square. Buildings that bordered the square included a church, observation tower, manager’s house, and a theatre. Moses provided the painted setting at the Javanese theatre.
The production was the “wajang wong,” a narrated pantomime accompanied with music played. The songs were by the “gamelan,” a native orchestra. One Columbian Exposition publication reported, “The girls danced, or postured, to music that was principally made on metal gongs, struck with soft hammers, and always in the minor, or sad key. Some of these notes were very deep and resonant, and might be heard a long distance. Three of the males would carry “onglongs,” or a bamboo strung on reeds, and the shaking of these extraordinary instruments with concerted effort produced soft, sad and peculiar music.”
Nearby visitors watched men show their skill with a blowpipe and longbow. Of all the attractions on the Midway Plaisance, this was reported to be the “most ethnological exhibit” and “anthropological display.” One World Fair publication reported, “At night the little Javans sat on their door-steps and played their low instruments, while the sonorous notes of their orchestra, within the theatre, deepened the sadness of the night. The great [Ferris] Wheel beyond might glitter with its five hundred lights, the Midway masses might go by in joy under the white lamps, but the scene where the onglongs played was always far off – continents and seas away, with but a step to go. To sit on the veranda of the Javan coffee-house, and let the hour grown late – it was the only truly poetic thing offered by the World’s Columbian Exposition.”
Opposite of the Java attraction was another theatre with scenery painted by Moses. It was a village with Samoan and Wallis Islanders. The Official Guidebook of the World Fair reported, “The Samoans were the most industrious entertainers on the Plaisance.” The theater was a high platform. Before the stage were two hollow logs, musical instruments that provided rhythm and some variation of notes. A processional of villages marched out of their front gate and into their theatre. This was to entice followers who would pay the twenty-five cents for the performance. The article continued, “This march would be repeated while the audience waited, and when a sufficient “house” was obtained the four dances and songs which comprised a program would begin.”
The Laplander village was the northern equivalent to the Java and South Seas settlements. It had a population of twenty-four men, women and children with twelve reindeer and five dogs. This attraction was located near the Brazilian Music Hall and the Hungarian dance hall and theater. The Laplander Village was developed to suggest the living conditions in a northern climate. Unfortunately, the participants were contractually obligated to wear their traditional and heavy garments throughout the hot Chicago summer.
To be continued…
