Jocko
Jocko , Joko or Joco was a generic name for chimpanzees and became a popular name for monkeys in zoos and for monkey dolls. As the name of a literary figure, Jocko found expression in stories, dramas and ballets.
Word origin
In the collection of travelogues “Purchas, his Pilgrimes” from 1625, Samuel Purchas reported that the explorer Andrew Battel had said that there were two types of human-like monsters to be found in the kingdom of Loango , the larger ones called pongos , the smaller enjockos. The French naturalist Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon took over the name Enjocko in his "Natural History" in 1766 as a generic name for a "small orangutan" or chimpanzee, shortening the name to Jocko. In the following years Jocko became a popular name for monkeys in zoos and for monkey dolls.
Jocko, anecdote indienne
“Jocko, anecdote indienne” (Jocko, Indian anecdote) is a story by Charles de Pougens from 1824. It was published under the title “Jocko, anecdote détachée des Lettres inédites sur l'instinct des animaux” (Jocko, anecdote from the unpublished letters on animal instinct). The "anecdote" supposedly reproduces the content of a Portuguese manuscript.
The anonymous narrator comes from Lisbon, but has lived on an unspecified island for several years. While walking in the woods, he meets a young female orangutan whom he calls Jocko. After initially strangling, Jocko gains confidence in the narrator, who lures her with delicacies. Jocko builds a hut to which she invites her human friend. A close empathic relationship develops between the two. The narrator spends a lot of time with Jocko, they take the evening meals together, Jocko watches him read and write and apes him. One day Jocko brings him a handful of shells and diamonds, and the narrator, in whom the greed awakens, leads them to get more diamonds for him. When the narrator plans to return to Lisbon, he is torn between taking Jocko with him or leaving him behind. The problem resolves itself when Jocko is ambushed by a snake and fatally injured.
The so-called anecdote seems to be an invention of the author, which he spread on the basis of the reports of travelers and scientists. This is underlined by an extensive apparatus of scientific footnotes, which he calls “Preuves” (evidence), and a list of over 20 pages from sources.
Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil
“Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil” (Jocko or the Brazilian monkey) is a two-act drama with music and ballet that premiered in Paris in 1825.
The Portuguese rice trader Fernandez moves from Lisbon to Brazil and sets up a rice plantation there. When he saves the life of the monkey Jocko, the monkey joins him and Fernandez tries to raise him. However, his steward Pedro is annoyed by Jocko's pranks and tries in vain to capture him. When a ship with Fernandez's wife and son is shipwrecked on landing, Pedro's son Dominique saves the wife and Jocko saves his son Fernand. When he is attacked by a snake, Jocko saves him for the second time. One of the rescued, shipwrecked sailors thinks Jocko is a dangerous wild animal and shoots him.
After the Paris premiere, the audience asked not to let Jocko die. The performance, in which Charles-François Mazurier shone as Jocko, was very successful and was taken over by other stages in Paris, London, Vienna, Stuttgart and Berlin. A hype arose, in the wake of which numerous objects were named after Jocko, such as clothes, fans, hairstyles and even bread.
Danina, or: Joko, the Brazilian monkey
"Danina, or: Joko, the Brazilian monkey" is a ballet that premiered in Stuttgart in 1826. Choreography: Filippo Taglioni , music: Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner . The ballet is a (heavily modified) version of “ Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil ”.
The plot of the 1830 libretto version largely corresponds to the 1826 version, but differs in that it uses a different description of the person and the division into acts and scenes. The following description of the contents is based on the version from 1830.
Location: Area on the Brazilian coast. The slave Danina is secretly married to Alvaro, the son of the wealthy planter Alonzo. She keeps her son Zabi hidden in a cave in the forest. Danina saves the monkey Joko from a snake. She rejects the love proposals of Mohren Jäfre, who swears revenge. Joko annoys the planter Diego with his funny pranks, but the attempt to capture him fails. Danina visits Zabi, and Joko befriends Danina and Zabi. Alvaro arrives by ship and Danina tells him that Jäfre is following her with his love. Alvaro swears revenge.
Jäfre reveals to Alonzo the love affair between Alvaro and Danina. Jäfre is looking for Zabi on behalf of Alonzo. He finds him in the cave and tries to kidnap him. Joko wounds Jäfre with a gunshot so that he releases Zabi. Joko takes Zabi on his back and saves him in the trees.
Danina finds Jäfres bloody coat and fears the worst for Zabi. Alonzo and Alvaro come over. Joko is discovered in a tree with Zabi. After a short hunt, Joko releases Zabi. Jäfre is taken away. Alonzo gives his blessing on his son's association with Danina.
Wilhelm Hauff
Wilhelm Hauff's novella " Free hours at the window " was published in April 1826 in the magazine "Der Eremit in Deutschland". The fourth chapter is entitled "Joco". A friend informs the first-person narrator, who has withdrawn from social life, about a current variant of the subject language. The ladies are very sad about the withdrawal of the narrator:
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“You are pityed, longed for; there are even young women who hold the fan openly in front of their left eye when someone talks about you. "
" Hold the fan in front of their left eye? what for, what is it supposed to mean? ”
“… that's the latest thing that is known here in love language; that means mourning à la Joco. "
From the end of May to June 10, 1825, Hauff stayed in Paris. He attended the Théatre de la Porte Saint-Martin, where the ballet pantomime " Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil " was performed since March 16, 1825 . On March 12, 1826, shortly before the novella was published in April 1826, the ballet " Danina, or: Joko, the Brazilian monkey " was premiered in Stuttgart . “A la Joco mourn” could come from a theater scene in which Joko announced his mourning by covering his left eye with a fan. It is also possible that Joko's grief is a free invention by Hauff, who wanted to make fun of the rampant Joko hype.
Dolls
The Jocko figure also found its way into the toy industry as a doll. Steiff has had the plush toys "Jocko Chimpanzee" and "Jocko Monkey" in its range since at least 1950. A pattern sheet from a US company from 1892 served as a template for making a Jocko rag doll.
Steiff Jocko chimpanzee, around 1950.
Pattern for making a Jocko rag doll, 1892.
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literature
- Patrick Bridgewater: Rotpeters ancestors, or: The learned monkey in German poetry. In: Deutsche Vierteljahrsschrift für Literaturwissenschaft and Geistesgeschichte, September 1, 1982, Volume 56, Issue 3, Pages 447–462, here: 455–456.
- Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon: Lord of Buffons natural history of the four-footed animals. Volume 17. Vienna: FA Schrämbl, 1791, page 225, 232-234, pdf . - Translation by: Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon: L'Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière. Volume 14. Paris 1766, pages 43, 48, 49, pdf .
- Charles de Pougens: Jocko, anecdote détachée des Lettres inédites sur l'instinct des animaux. Paris: Persan, 1824.
- Edmond Rochefort: Jocko ou le Singe du Brésil. Drame en deux actes. à grand spectacle, mêlé de musique, de danses et de pantomime. Par MM. Gabriel et Rochefort. Paris: Chez Quoy, 1825.
- Filippo Taglioni ; Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner : Danina, or: Joko, the Brazilian monkey. Ballet in 3 sections, by Taglioni. Music by Lindpaintner. Libretto, Berlin, 1826, pdf .
- Filippo Taglioni; Peter Joseph von Lindpaintner: Danina, or: Joko, the Brazilian monkey. Ideal ballet in 4 acts by ballet master Taglioni. Music by Lindpaintner, Königl. Württemberg bandmaster. Libretto, Without Place, around 1830, pdf .
Web links
Footnotes
- ↑ # Buffon 1791 .
- ↑ #Pougens 1824 .
- ↑ #Rochefort 1825 .
- ↑ # Taglioni 1826 .
- ↑ # Taglioni 1830 .