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The Baka, also known as Bebayaka, Bebayaga, Bibaya, or Babinga, are a Pygmy ethnic group inhabiting the southeastern rain forests of Cameroon, northern Congo (Brazzaville), northern Gabon, and southwestern Central African Republic. They are sometimes mistakenly called a subgroup of the Twa pygmies, but the two peoples are not closely related. Likewise, the name Baka is sometimes mistakenly applied to any of Cameroon's two to nine recognized pygmy populations. With an average height of 1.5 metres, the Baka are, strictly speaking, pygmoids rather than pygmies. Nevertheless, in everyday usage, the term "pygmy" is employed. The Baka themselves find the term "pygmy" derogatory and prefer their tribal name. Generally speaking, pygmy (from Greek pygmaios, fist sized, a kind of dwarf in Greek mythology) can refer to any human or animal of unusually small size, for example, the pygmy hippopotamus. ...
A rainforest is a forested biome with high annual rainfall. ...
The Twa are a pygmy people, of short stature, who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of an area in central Africa that now comprises the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. ...
The Baka of the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan are an unrelated people.
Culture
Population The Baka's exact numbers are difficult to determine, but estimates range from 5,000 to 28,000 individuals.
Language Unlike most other Central African pygmy groups, the Baka maintain a unique language, also called Baka. It is included in the Adamawa-Ubangi branch of the Niger-Congo language family. In addition, many Baka speak Koozime, the tongue of their Bantu neighbours, as a second language. A much smaller percentage speak French. The Adamawa-Ubangi languages are spoken in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, southern Central African Republic, by a total of about 12 million people. ...
Map showing the distribution of Niger-Congo languages The Niger-Congo languages constitute one of the worlds major language families, and Africas largest in terms of geographical area, number of speakers, and number of distinct languages. ...
Subsistence The Baka are a hunter-gatherer people. Groups establish temporary camps of huts constructed of bowed branches covered in large leaves (though today more and more homes are constructed following Bantu methods). The men hunt and trap in the surrounding forest, employing poisoned arrows and spears to great effect. Meanwhile, the women gather wild fruits and nuts or practice beekeeping while tending to the children. The group remains in one area until it is hunted out then abandon the camp for a different portion of the forest. The group is communal and makes decisions by consensus. In anthropology, the hunter-gatherer way of life is that led by certain societies of the Neolithic Era based on the exploitation of wild plants and animals. ...
Map showing the approximate distribution of Bantu (dull yellow) vs. ...
Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, a bee) is the practice of intentional maintenance of honeybee hives by humans. ...
Religion and belief-systems Baka religion is animist. They worship a forest spirit known as Jengi or Djengi, whom they perceive as both a parental figure and guardian. Each successful hunt is followed by a dance of thanksgiving known as the Luma, which is accompanied by drumming and polyphonic singing. One of the most important traditional ceremonies is the Jengi, a long and secret rite of initiation which celebrates the boy's passage into adulthood, studied in depth by the anthropologist Mauro Campagnoli, who also could take part into it. The Baka practice traditional medicine, and their skills are such that even non-Baka often seek out pygmy healers for treatment. This article is in need of attention. ...
Luma may refer to either: A national development program of Mathematics and Science education in Finland, operated by the Ministry of Education in Finland. ...
Polyphony is a musical texture consisting of several independent melodic voices, as opposed to music with just one voice (monophony) or music with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by chords (homophony). ...
Initiation rites are formalized, ceremonial rites of passage as an individual moves from stage to stage within a social career or formally acquires such status. ...
Mauro Campagnoli (born in Turin, 1975), is an Italian anthropologist, ethnomusicologist and composer. ...
The term traditional medicine is used with two main meanings. ...
Relations The Baka live relatively symbiotically with their Bantu neighbours. They often set their camps along roadsides to better facilitate trade; the Baka provide forest game in exchange for produce and manufactured goods. Nevertheless, exploitation of the Baka by other ethnic groups is a grave reality, especially since the Baka are still largely unaccustomed to the cash-based economy. Non-Baka sometimes hire Baka pygmies as labourers, for example, but pay them virtually nothing for a full day's work. Or, conscious of the tourism potential, some non-Baka arrange visits or stays in pygmy villages or arrange Baka guides for visitors to forest reserves, often with little compensation to the pygmies. Rates of Baka-Bantu intermarriage are also on the rise. Baka who marry outside of their ethnic group typically adopt the lifestyle of their non-Baka spouse, so some scholars predict that the pygmies will one day be completely assimilated into other groups. Supermarket produce section Produce is a general term for a group of farm-produced goods, generally limited to fruits and vegetables. ...
A currency is a unit of exchange, facilitating the transfer of goods and services. ...
A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Beaches make popular tourist resorts. ...
The Baka are among the oldest inhabitants of Cameroon and the neighbouring countries. Their semi-nomadic lifestyle has persisted largely unchanged for thousands of years, despite the fact that during colonialism, the Baka's prowess at elephant hunting prompted ivory-hungry German and French overlords to force them to settle in roadside villages where their talents could be more easily exploited. The government of Cameroon, while stopping short of forced settlement, has attempted to maintain this policy through government incentives and regulations such as mandatory schooling for all children. However, the Baka largely resist. Today, the greatest threat to their way of life comes from multinational logging interests. As the forests disappear, the animals and plants upon which the Baka rely vanish as well. Bold textItalic text World map of colonialism at the end of the Second World War in 1945. ...
Genera and Species Loxodonta Loxodonta cyclotis Loxodonta africana Elephas Elephas maximus Elephas recki †Stegodon †Mammuthus †Elephantidae (the elephants) is a family of pest animals, the only family in the order Proboscidea that still exists today. ...
Loggers on break, c. ...
References - Fanso, V.G. (1989) Cameroon History for Secondary Schools and Colleges, Vol. 1: From Prehistoric Times to the Nineteenth Century. Hong Kong: Macmillan Education Ltd.
- Neba, Aaron, Ph.D. (1999) Modern Geography of the Republic of Cameroon, 3rd ed. Bamenda: Neba Publishers.
See also Other Pygmy groups Researchers who studied Pygmy culture: The Aka are a wandering African pygmy people, with large heads and slender necks, who live by hunting. ...
The Twa are a pygmy people, of short stature, who were the oldest recorded inhabitants of an area in central Africa that now comprises the nations of Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. ...
Other Colin Macmillan Turnbull (November 23, 1924 - July 28, 1994) was a prominent British anthropologist who gained fame with his book The Forest People (1962), a detailed study of the Mbuti Pygmies. ...
Mauro Campagnoli (born in Turin, 1975), is an Italian anthropologist, ethnomusicologist and composer. ...
Cameroons estimated 250 ethnic groups form five large regional-cultural groups: western highlanders (or grassfielders), including the Bamileke, Bamun (or Bamoun), and many smaller entities in the Northwest (est. ...
The Pygmies are a broad group of people who live in Central Africa, especially in Congo, Central African Republic and Cameroon. ...
External links - Baka Pygmies of Cameroon with photos and ethnographic notes
- Mauro Campagnoli - Fieldworks Anthropological researches among Baka Pygmies
- Baka Pygmies vocal polyphony by Vincent Kenis
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