Why I am uncomfortable with "ethnic tourism"

Today while in Hoedspruit I stopped at the tourism center for lunch. This place has a good deli but it is depressingly cheesy. The buildings are sided by faux wood poles and topped by faux straw thatch roofs. The complex has many shops, some of which purport to sell "African" goods, and others, like a jewelry store, that have no direct connection to a place or time, just to tourists' wallets.

When I pulled in I could see some sort of entertainment happening on a patio. It turned out to be 8-10 black men and women dressed in "traditional" African clothing, playing handdrums, singing and dancing. Upon slightly closer inspection it became clear their clothes were not really the animal furs they were meant to imitate, but some cheap faux material. The drums could have come from any music shop. I couldn't tell for sure if the songs were traditional, but I had a strong impression they were not.

I reflected on my aversion to these things. The scene reminded me of the Mayan tourism center Jess and I saw in Mexico and the huge tepees on the sides of roads in some states. My reactions are always mixed. I am embarrassed by the (usually white) audience eating it up. I think of who hires the dancers and, in this case, if that person makes applicants remove their shirts to judge their musculature before offering a job. I wonder how the dancers feel about their jobs and how closely they identify with any local or ethnic traditions. After all, this dance could be done anywhere in Africa to the pleasure of tourists. It was almost like a Bugs Bunny cartoon. The finale may as well have included a big black cauldron for a cannibal bit. (I exaggerate...)

But isn't it true that these people are just making a living? That maybe they are not being exploited, but are exploiting the tourists, selling a silly caricature to people who want their preconceptions confirmed? If you can do a song and dance to make some money and live your life, what is wrong with that? To cast the performers as victims of modernity would be to ignore their agency--all the legitimate reasons they have to do what they do.

The reason I'm uncomfortable with these displays is that the entire scene seems to dehumanize the performers and devalue whatever authentic ethnic culture may exist. But I also recognize the "hey, it's a living" aspect.

\end sociology 101 essay

And the picture at the right is kind of pretty but I posted it because it is totally typical of what I've seen here. The place is somewhat poor and sure, traditions and history matter> But a romanticized savage place frozen in time is simply not to be found here.