Pygmies, << PIHG meez, >> are small people. The word pygmy is a general term for anything small. Spelled with a capital P, it usually refers to a member of one of several groups of African people. However, many people consider Pygmies to be an insulting term. The pygmy peoples call themselves Baka, Efe, Mbuti, Twa, and other names. Most adults who belong to these groups are from 4 to 4 feet 8 inches (1.2 to 1.42 meters) tall. This article discusses African Pygmies. Other Pygmies, called Negritos, live in parts of Asia and on some islands of the Indian and Pacific oceans (see Negritos ).
African Pygmies live in thick tropical rain forests. Most live in central Africa, in parts of Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda. Many scholars believe they once lived throughout central Africa. Bantu-speaking peoples later invaded much Pygmy territory and cut down the forest to grow farm crops and set up villages. Today, the Pygmies continue to lose territory to the construction of roads and towns in the forests where they live. Together, the Pygmy groups have a population of about 150,000. The number of Pygmies who follow their traditional way of life has declined at a rapid rate.
Pygmies have traditionally lived by hunting and gathering. The men hunt antelope, birds, elephants, monkeys, and other animals. Most of the hunters trap animals in large nets and kill them with spears. Some Pygmies hunt with small bows and poisoned arrows. The women gather berries, mushrooms, nuts, and roots. Men often gather wild honey from forest hives.
Some Pygmies live in bands of fewer than 50 members. Each band has its own territory in the forest. Pygmies establish temporary camps in clearings and build huts of saplings and leaves. A band moves its camp to a new area of the forest when the food supply runs low.
A Pygmy band has no formal leadership. Members make decisions and solve problems by general discussion. Most Pygmies marry people of other bands. Ties of family and friendship link various bands, and a family may leave its band to join another one at any time.
Pygmies speak the same Bantu languages as their crop-growing neighbors. They trade meat to these neighbors for knives and other metal tools and for such agricultural products as bananas, corn, and rice.
Pygmies see the forest as the giver of all life. It provides them with clothing, food, and shelter. In return, Pygmies try not to harm the forest. They perform various ceremonies to maintain friendly relations with the natural and supernatural worlds.
See also Africa (Peoples of Africa) .
