Featured Abeokuts, the "Dahomey Giant". Dime Museum attraction...

The man pictured below is a dime museum performer whom I believe is the same man billed in advertisements as "Abeokuts, the Dahomey Giant", whom I suspect is actually a South Carolina man named James Gilbert, who performed as a giant attraction on the Bowery in the 1880s. I was hoping that someone with knowledge might confirm my hunch that he is wearing a gaff costume. Is anything he's holding or wearing authentically African and does he look like he could be from Dahomey?

To me he appears to be of mixed African - Ango ancestry. Any thoughts?

Many thanks!

 

It is interesting that when I did a google image search of the photo, the results were all 19th century actors in costume, or circus performers.

The costume of Dahomey warriors, both men and women (the "amazons" depicted in a recent movie), consisted of a sleeveless tunic and shorts -



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahomey_Amazons

Here is a dance group from Dahomey, photographed in Paris in 1891. The costumes bear a slight resemblance to your fellow - the crossed bandoliers and feather headdresses on the men at the back -

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:COLLECTIE_TROPENMUSEUM_Groepsportret_van_de_zogenaamde_'Amazones_uit_Dahomey'_tijdens_hun_verblijf_in_Parijs_TMnr_60038362.jpg

The description of this photo notes that "it is almost certain that there were no 'real' Amazons among the dance group members. A French journalist discovered that ten women were Egba (Yoruba) and the rest were from Dahomey but did not belong to the armed forces (1999: 196). Edgerton shows that it was not unusual for an Egba to become an Amazon, for example, a girl captured in 1851 during the siege of the Egba city of Abeokuta was raised as an Amazon in Dahomey."

There were a series of fierce wars between the Dahomey kingdom and the Egba (Yoruba) people of Abeokuta in the mid 19th century. There may be some echo of this in your fellow's name, Abeokuts.

 

I believe that the spear and shield are homemade items that reflect no African cultural items....

 

The headdress looks like a Tutsi lion mane headdress to me, from Rwanda/Burundi:

I'm not seeing anything African, which doesn't mean that there wasn't a mixed Afro-Euro origin. It is not apparent from his facial features imo.

 

The Watusi/Watutsi (singular Tutsi) are among the tallest people in Africa, men often standing over 7 feet.

"Abeokuts" seems to be a pastiche of traits associated with Africa in the 19th century.