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The Iracoubo memorial, inaugurated in August 2024, is an initiative by the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana and the association Moliko Alet+Po, in partnership with the Grand Customary Council of Indigenous Peoples and the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac. It honors the memory of the 47 Kali'na and Arawak people who were victims of the ethnographic exhibitions of 1882 and 1892, put on display in human zoos across Europe.
The memorial restores the identities of 47 individuals — men, women, and children — whose names and ages are engraved on commemorative plaques. Two central figures, Pi'pi Ahieramo and Pi'pi Molko, immortalized in sculptures created by Gérard Lartigues, embody wisdom and innocence.
The memorial is a space dedicated to historical rehabilitation and collective remembrance. Interpretive panels recount the events of 1882 and 1892 and document the suffering endured by these communities. A map of world exhibitions illustrates the international scale of these practices, with comparable examples from the United States and Europe. By restoring the names, faces, and stories of the 47 Kali'na and Arawak, this site underscores the importance of acknowledging past injustices while celebrating the resilience of French Guiana's indigenous peoples.
Ethnographic exhibitions, also known as human zoos, displayed non-European populations as exotic curiosities. In 1882, the Galibis (Kali'na) were exhibited in Paris at the Jardin Zoologique d'Acclimatation before more than 400,000 visitors. In 1892, Kali'na and Arawak people were taken to Paris, Brussels, and Dresden for similar exhibitions. Families lived in reconstructed huts, exposed to the cold and frequently falling ill; some members died during these exhibitions and never returned to French Guiana. The memorial project resulted from a collaboration between the association Moliko Alet+Po, the Musée du Quai Branly – Jacques Chirac (which contributed archival resources), and the Grand Customary Council of Indigenous Peoples. The official recognition ceremony was attended by Gabriel Serville, president of the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana, along with customary chiefs and religious authorities.
The monument is located at the edge of Iracoubo, heading toward Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, near the public restrooms, on the right after the church.
It honors the memory of the 47 Kali'na and Arawak people — men, women, and children — who were victims of the ethnographic exhibitions of 1882 and 1892, displayed in human zoos across Europe.
The memorial was inaugurated in August 2024, at the initiative of the Territorial Collectivity of French Guiana and the association Moliko Alet+Po.
They are two emblematic figures of the memorial, representing wisdom and innocence. Their likenesses have been immortalized in sculptures created by Gérard Lartigues.
It is located at the edge of Iracoubo, heading toward Saint-Laurent-du-Maroni, near the public restrooms, on the right after the church.
« Endroit magique, on a vu deux toucans en arrivant ! Sentier bien balisé, parfait pour la matinée. »
« Super site, l'eau est cristalline. Petit bémol : prévoir des chaussures qui tiennent bien, ça glisse. »
« Tip BTK validé : on y est allés à 8h, on était seuls. Vers midi c'est beaucoup plus fréquenté. »
« On a passé l'après-midi ici en famille, les enfants ont adoré la baignade. Vraiment un coup de cœur. »
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