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Féral Benga
(1906 - 4 June 1957) Senegal

Féral Benga

Dancer

Geoffrey Gorer
(26 March 1905 - 24 May 1985) U.K.

Geoffrey Gorer

Anthropologist

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François, called Féral Benga, was born in Dakar in 1906. Illegitimate child of a father Lebu and a mother Sérer, he saw an unhappy childhood torn between his wealthy paternal family, with the French name, working in relation with the colonial French administration, and his maternal family known for traditional healing activities. His paternal uncle was one of the first lawyers in Senegal and was appointed bâtonnier of Châteauroux. As a child, he became a chorister for missionaries while following a secular education at the communal school. While he is 17 years old, Féral Benga accompanied his father who, educated partly in Montpellier, traveled regularly in France. He decided to settle in France.

Féral lived and worked in Paris in the the 1930s. He migrated to France in order to improve his life. He went to dance rehearsals and wound up playing the drums for Josephine Baker when she performed The Banana Dance . Féral's own reputation as a dancer began to grow and was considered by some the male equivalent of Josephine Baker. Féral was the exotic fetish of the moment among Paris' artsy circles, particularly among his male audience and his body became a symbol of homoeroticism. He was known for his work on Le sang d'un poète (1932), Escale (1935) and Quand minuit sonnera (1936). He died in 1957 in France.

He became a model for artistic expression like James Richmond Barthé's famous sculpture, pictures by Carl Van Vechten, postcards by George Platt Lynes, paintings by James Porter and Pavel Tchelitchew. He had a long relationship with anthropologist Geoffrey Gorer.

Geoffrey Edgar Solomon Gorer was an English anthropologist and author, educated at Charterhouse and at Jesus College, Cambridge. During the 1930s he wrote unpublished fiction and drama. His first book was The Revolutionary Ideas of the Marquis de Sade (1934).

He was noted for his application of psychoanalytic techniques to anthropology. He had a relationship with Senegalese dancer Féral Benga. Benga and Gorer travelled together to Africa, and Gorer wrote Africa Dances . Originally published in 1935, Africa Dances takes the reader on an odyssey across West Africa, in the company of one of the great black ballet stars of 1930s Paris (Féral Benga). t's a devastating critique of colonial rule, which is shown to be destroying African society while Christian missionaries undermine indigenous morality. The book captures the rich physical and psychological detail of village life-from food and architecture to witch doctors, dance, and magic.

From 1939, Gorer lived and worked in the United States. He wrote The Americans (1948), The People of Great Russia: A Psychological Study (1949), and worked with various official and semi-official organizations on studies in Soviet and other cultures. Modern types (1955) was his last book written in America. Féral died in 1957 and Gorer went back to the UK. His last book, Sex and Marriage in England Today appeared in 1971. 

From 1957 he again worked in England. Exploring English Character, based on a large survey he designed, appeared in 1955. Death, Grief, and Mourning in Contemporary Britain appeared in 1965. The Danger of Equality and other essays (1966) collected some recent papers. Sex and Marriage in England Today appeared in 1971.

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Sources : https://www.findagrave.com/ - http://en.wikipedia.org/ - and others

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