Mission Dakar-Djibouti [1931-1933]: Contre-enquêtes, the exhibition at the Musée du Quai Branly, our photos

It's a temporary exhibition that's sure to get people talking. From April 15 to September 14, 2025, the Musée du Quai Branly presents " Mission Dakar-Djibouti [1931-1933]: Contre-enquêtes " in its Germain Viatte gallery. Through a rich selection of objects, photographs and archives, the exhibition revisits one of the most high-profile missions in the history of French ethnology, led by Marcel Griaule. Between 1931 and 1933, the expedition covered 15 African countries from west to east: Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. In 1931, these countries were under European colonial domination, with the exception of independent Ethiopia.

At the time, the aim of this " Dakar-Djibouti ethnographic and linguistic mission " was to bring back to France information, images and objects of African culture, which it believed were doomed to disappear. By 1933, the mission had collected some 3,600 objects, 6,600 naturalist specimens, 6,000 photographs, 370 manuscripts, 79 human bones, some 20 recordings and over 15,000 field sheets. All these items were destined for the collections of the Musée d'Ethnographie du Trocadéro, since renamed the Musée de l'Homme. But the conditions under which these objects, photographs and manuscripts were acquired and collected, as well as the relationship between colonized and colonial countries, raised many questions.

The years have since passed, but the questions surrounding this mission remain as sensitive and numerous as ever. So, the Quai Branly - Jacques Chirac Museum in Paris and the Museum of Black Civilizations in Dakar decided to conduct a"counter-inquiry" in 2020. Together, they set up a scientific team of French and African researchers. The aim? To study the archives of this mission and attempt to retrace the conditions of acquisition.

From April 15 to September 14, 2025, the Musée du Quai Branly is exhibiting some of the objects, photographs and archives collected during this expedition, which took place between 1931 and 1933. And the Parisian museum has chosen to tell the whole story, placing at the heart of its presentation the current viewpoint of professionals from the African continent, as well as the results of research carried out by African and French researchers. " Mission Dakar-Djibouti [1931-1933] : Contre-enquêtes "(Dakar-Djibouti Mission 1931-1933: Counter-investigations ), which unveils a selection of some 350 objects and photographs, naturalist specimens and archives, looks back at the conditions under which these various cultural assets were acquired.

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After recalling the context of the ethnographic expedition, as well as the political context of the time in Africa, " Mission Dakar-Djibouti [1931-1933] : Contre-enquêtes " exhibits a selection of objects: arrowhead, amulet necklace, crest mask, iron and wood knife, buffalo leather cuirass, calabash, musical instruments...

The exhibition makes no secret of the fact, and covers every aspect of the acquisition process. For half of the collection, these acquisitions remain unknown. The rest was purchased, donated, commissioned, exchanged, excavated, stolen or requisitioned. For example, the exhibition evokes the famous " theft of the Boli ". Conceived between the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, this ensemble of mask, costume and flutes was kept in its sanctuary before it was stolen by Marcel Griaule and Michel Leiris. These objects were requisitioned on September 6, 1931 from Kéméni in Mali, despite the refusal of the cult leader," reads the label. Next door, the Musée du Quai Branly exhibits a number of wooden objects stolen from an ossuary in Mali on November 8, 1931.

The exhibition also devotes a section to those who took part in the mission, some of whom have remained in the shadow of French ethnologists. This is particularly true of Mamadou Vad. A former railway mechanic, he was hired by the mission from July to October 1931. During this period, he acquired numerous objects for the mission or made them himself.

The richly documented exhibition " Mission Dakar-Djibouti [1931-1933]: Contre-enquêtes " unveils an incredible collection of African cultural objects. But above all, the exhibition aims to make us think about the history of science, while taking a look back at colonial history. An exhibition that should appeal to lovers of African culture and art, and one in which you'll need to take your time to read all the labels.