The Pygmy tribe is the people of equatorial Africa: photo, video, film about the life of African Pygmies. Dwellings, songs, growth. Pygmies: the smallest people in the world Indigenous peoples of Africa Pygmies

Pygmies (Greek Πυγμαῖοι - "people the size of a fist") - a group of undersized Negroid peoples living in equatorial forests Africa.

Testimonies and references

Mentioned already in ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC. e., at a later time - in ancient Greek sources (in the "Iliad" of Homer, in Herodotus and Strabo).

In the XVI-XVII centuries. they are called "matimba" are mentioned in the descriptions left by the explorers of West Africa.

In the 19th century, their existence was confirmed by the German explorer Georg August Schweinfurt, the Russian explorer V.V. Junker and others, who discovered these tribes in the tropical forests of the Ituri and Uzle river basins (various tribes under the names: Akka, Tikitiki, Obongo, Bambuti, Batva) .

In 1929-1930. P. Shebesta's expedition described the Bambuti Pygmies; in 1934–1935 the researcher M. Guzinde found the Efe and Basua Pygmies.

At the end of the 20th century, they live in the forests of Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Congo, and Rwanda.

The most ancient mention of the pygmies is contained in the story of the Egyptian Hirkhuf, a nobleman of the era of the Old Kingdom, who boasted that he managed to bring a dwarf from his campaign for the amusement of the young king. This inscription dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. e. In an Egyptian inscription, the dwarf brought by Hirkhuf is called dng. This name has survived to this day in the languages ​​​​of the peoples of Ethiopia: in Amharic, a dwarf is called deng, or dat. Ancient Greek writers tell all sorts of stories about African pygmies, but all their reports are fantastic.

Pygmies lead a hunting lifestyle. In the economy of the Pygmies, gathering, apparently, occupies the first place and mainly determines the nutrition of the entire group. falls to the lot of women most of work, as mining plant food is the business of women. Every day, the women of the entire cohabiting group, accompanied by children, collect wild-growing roots, leaves of edible plants and fruits around their camp, catch worms, snails, frogs, snakes and fish.

Pygmies are forced to leave the camp as soon as all suitable plants are eaten in the vicinity of the camp and the game is destroyed. The whole group moves to another area of ​​the forest, but wanders within the established boundaries. These boundaries are known to all and are strictly observed. Hunting on foreign lands is not allowed and may lead to hostile clashes. Almost all groups of pygmies live in close contact with a tall population, most often with the Bantu. Typically, the pygmies bring game and forest products to the villages in exchange for bananas, vegetables, and iron spearheads. All groups of pygmies speak the languages ​​of their tall neighbors.

House of pygmies made of leaves and sticks

The primitive nature of the culture of the pygmies sharply distinguishes them from the surrounding peoples. negroid race. What are pygmies? Is it an autochthonous population of Central Africa? Do they constitute a special anthropological type, or is their origin the result of degradation of the tall type? These are the main questions that made up the essence of the pygmy problem, one of the most controversial in anthropology and ethnography. Soviet anthropologists believe that pygmies are natives tropical Africa special anthropological type, independent origin.

Height from 144 to 150 cm for adult males, skin is light brown, hair is curly, dark, lips are relatively thin, large torso, arms and legs are short, this physical type can be classified as a special race. The possible number of pygmies can range from 40 to 280 thousand people.

In external type, the negritos of Asia are close to them, but genetically there are strong differences between them.

Pygmies differ from other African tribes in their height, which ranges from 143 to 150 centimeters. The reason for such a small growth of pygmies is still a mystery to scientists, although some researchers believe that their growth is due to their adaptation to difficult living conditions in the rainforest.

Pygmies were sold to zoos!

The origin of the pygmies is still a mystery to scientists. No one knows who their distant ancestors were and how these little people ended up in the equatorial forests of Africa. There are no legends or myths to help answer these questions. There is an assumption that in old times pygmies occupied all central part Black Continent, and were later driven out by other tribes in rainforests. From Greek, the pygmies are translated as "people the size of a fist", the scientific definition interprets the pygmies as a group of undersized Negroid peoples living in the forests of Africa.

Pygmies are mentioned in ancient Egyptian sources of the III millennium BC. e., later Herodotus and Strabo wrote about them, Homer in his Iliad. Aristotle considered the pygmies to be a very real people, although a lot of fantastic was written about them in ancient sources: for example, Strabo listed them along with big-headed, noseless, cyclops, dog-headed and others mythical creatures ancient period.

It is worth noting that because of their growth, the pygmies have long suffered many disasters and humiliations. The taller Africans drove them out of the most favorable places and drove them into a green hell. equatorial forests. Civilization also brought them some joy, especially at the beginning of contact with white people. Some travelers and colonial officials captured the pygmies and took them with them to Europe and the USA as a curiosity. It got to the point that the pygmies, especially their children, in late XIX- at the beginning of the 20th century, they were sold, as living exhibits, to the zoos of the West ...

It would seem that now this people can live much calmer and more confident in their future, but, alas, this is not so. It's hard to believe, but in the period 1998-2003 during civil war in the Congo it happened quite often that pygmies were caught and eaten like wild animals. A sect of “erasers” is still operating in the same parts, whose members are hired to clean up the territory from pygmies if mining is supposed to take place on it. Cultists kill pygmies and feed on their flesh. Enlightenment has not yet penetrated into the deep layers of the African population, so many inhabitants of the Black Continent believe that by eating a pygmy, they gain some magical power protecting them from witchcraft.

The presence of a considerable number of peculiar pygmy slaves will also seem incredible, although slavery is legally prohibited in all countries. Pygmies become slaves in the same Republic of the Congo, and they are even inherited; according to the tradition existing here, their owners are representatives of the Bantu people. No, pygmies do not walk in shackles, but their master can simply take away from the slaves the fruits and meat obtained in the forest, sometimes he still gives them some kind of provisions, tools and metal for arrowheads. Surprisingly, the pygmies do not arrange any uprisings against the slave owners: as some researchers say, without maintaining relations with the Bantu, they can only get worse,

Why are they so small?

The growth of pygmies ranges from 140 to 150 cm. The smallest people in the world are the pygmies of the Efe tribe, in which the average height of men does not exceed 143 cm, and for women - 130-132 cm. Of course, as soon as scientists learned about the existence of pygmies, they the question immediately arose - what is the reason for their such insignificant growth? If the small pygmies were only a small part of their tribe, their diminutiveness could be explained by a genetic failure. However, due to the general low growth, such an explanation had to be immediately discarded.

Another explanation, it would seem, lies right on the surface - the pygmies do not have good nutrition, and they are often malnourished, which is reflected in their growth. The study showed that the diet of African pygmies is almost the same as that of neighboring farmers (the same Bantu), but their daily food intake is very small. It is possible that this is why their bodies, and, accordingly, their height, decreased from generation to generation. It is clear that a smaller amount of food is enough for a small person to survive. Even a very curious experiment was carried out: for a long time a small group of pygmies were fed to satiety, but, alas, neither the pygmies themselves nor their offspring grew up because of this.

There is also a version about the impact on the growth of pygmies lack sunlight. Spending their whole lives under the canopy of a dense forest, the pygmies do not receive enough sunlight, which leads to a slight production of vitamin D by the body. The lack of this vitamin causes inhibition of bone growth, which results in a very miniature skeleton in the pygmies.

Some researchers believe that the diminutiveness of pygmies is caused by an evolutionary process that adapts them to life in dense thickets. It is clear that it is much easier for a small and nimble pygmy to make his way through a palisade of trees, fallen trunks, entangled in vines than a tall European. It is also known about the predilection of pygmies for collecting honey. Looking for honey, male pygmies spend about 9% of their lives in trees in search of habitats for wild bees. Of course, climbing trees is easier for a person with small stature and weighing up to 45 kilograms.

Of course, the pygmies were carefully studied by doctors and geneticists, they found that the concentration of growth hormone in their blood does not differ much from the average ordinary person. However, the level of insulin-like growth factor was below the norm by 3 times. According to the researchers, this explains the small growth of newborn pygmies. In addition, the low concentration of this hormone in the blood plasma prevents the onset of a period of active growth in pygmy adolescents, who completely stop growing at the age of 12-15 years. By the way, genetic research allowed to call the pygmies descendants ancient people that appeared on Earth about 70 thousand years ago. But scientists have not identified genetic mutations in them.

The small stature of the pygmies is also explained by their short life span. Alas, these little people live an average of only 16 to 24 years, those who have reached the age of 35-40 are already long-livers among them. Due to the small life cycle in pygmies, early puberty occurs, causing inhibition of body growth. Puberty in pygmies occurs as early as 12 years old, and the highest birth rate in women is noted at 15.

As you can see, there are many factors contributing to the small growth of pygmies. Perhaps one of them is the main one, or maybe they all work together. Yes, due to their short stature, some scientists are even ready to single out the pygmies as a separate race. It is curious that in addition to growth, the pygmies have other differences from the Negroid race - these are light brown skin and very thin lips.

"Lilliputians" from the rainforest

Now pygmy tribes can be found in the forests of Gabon, Cameroon, Congo, Rwanda, and the Central African Republic. The life of these little people is constantly connected with the forest, they spend the main part of their lives in it, get their own food, give birth to children and die. They are not engaged in agriculture, their main occupations are gathering and hunting. Pygmies lead a nomadic life, they leave their camp as soon as there is no game, no fruits, no edible plants, no honey around the camp. Resettlement takes place within the boundaries established with other groups, hunting on foreign land can become a reason for conflict.

There is another reason for moving. It happens when someone dies in a small pygmy village. Pygmies are very superstitious, they believe that since death has visited them, it means that the forest does not want them to continue to live in this place. The deceased is buried right in his hut, funeral dances take place at night, and in the morning, leaving their simple buildings, the pygmies move to another place.

The main occupation of male pygmies is hunting. Unlike the "civilized" hunters who come to Africa to amuse their pride and get hunting trophies, pygmies never kill Living being if it's not needed. They hunt with bows with arrows poisoned with vegetable poison and spears with metal tips. Birds, monkeys, small antelopes and deer become their prey. Pygmies do not store meat for future use, they always share the prey fairly. Despite the usual luck of undersized hunters, mined meat makes up only 9% of their diet. By the way, pygmies often hunt with dogs, they are very hardy and, if necessary, are ready at the cost of their lives to protect the owner from the most ferocious beast.

A significant share in the diet of the pygmies is made up of honey and other gifts of the forest. Honey is mined by men who are ready to climb the most tall trees, but the gifts of the forest are collected by women. Around the camp they are looking for fruits, wild root vegetables, edible plants, do not disdain worms, larvae, snails, frogs and snakes. All this goes to food. However, at least 50% of the diet of the pygmies is vegetables and fruits, which they exchange with farmers for honey and other gifts of the forest. In addition to food, through the exchange, the pygmies get the fabrics they need, pottery, iron and tobacco.

Every day, a part of the women remain in the village, making a kind of matter from tree bark called "tana", it is from it that the famous aprons of the pygmies are made. For men, such an apron is attached to a leather or fur belt, and they wear a bunch of leaves at the back. But women wear only aprons. However, settled pygmies that have already appeared often wear European clothes. Civilization is slowly but persistently penetrating into the life and life of the pygmies, their culture and traditions, perhaps in a few decades, will become a thing of the past.

Pygmy is a representative of one of the nationalities living in the equatorial forests of Africa. This word Greek origin and means "a man the size of a fist." Such a name is quite justified, considering average height representatives of these tribes. Find out who the pygmies of Africa are and how they differ from others in the hottest continent.

Who are the pygmies?

These tribes live in Africa, next to Ogowe and Ituri. In total, there are about 80 thousand pygmies, half of which live along the banks of the Ituri River. The height of the representatives of these tribes varies from 140 to 150 cm. The color of their skin is somewhat atypical for Africans, because they have a slightly lighter, golden brown. Pygmies even have their own national dress. So, men wear a fur or leather belt with a small apron made of wood in front, and a small bunch of leaves in the back. Women are less fortunate, often they only have aprons.

Houses

The buildings in which representatives of this people live are made of twigs and leaves, fastening everything with clay. Oddly enough, the construction and repair of the hut here is the responsibility of the women. A man, having conceived the construction of a new house, must go to the elder for permission. If the elder agrees, he gives his visitor a nyombikari - a bamboo stick with a peg at the end. It is with the help of this device that the boundaries of the future home will be outlined. This is done by a man, all other construction worries fall on the shoulders of a woman.

Life style

A typical pygmy is a forest nomad who does not stay in one place for a long time. Representatives of these tribes live in one place for no more than a year, while there is game around their village. When the fearless animals run out, the nomads take off in search of a new home. There is another reason why people often move to a new place. Any pygmy is an extremely superstitious person. Therefore, the whole tribe, if one of its members dies, migrates, believing that the forest does not want anyone to live in this place. The dead man is buried in his hut, a commemoration is held, and the next morning the whole settlement goes deep into the forest to build a new village.

Mining

Pygmies feed on what the forest gives them. That's why early morning the women of the tribe go there to resupply. On the way, they collect everything edible, from berries to caterpillars, so that every pygmy of the same tribe is fed. This is an established tradition, according to which the woman is the main breadwinner in the family.

Outcome

Pygmies are accustomed to the traditions of their lives, which have been established for centuries. Despite the fact that the government of the state tries to educate them in a more civilized life, cultivation of the land and a settled existence, they continue to remain far from this. Pygmies, photographed by many researchers studying their customs, refuse any innovations in their everyday life and continue to do what their ancestors have been doing for many centuries.

According to dictionaries, pygmies are a very small group of peoples in Central Africa, the total number of which is about 390 thousand people. They speak Bantu languages. Most of the tribes maintain a nomadic way of life and adhere to traditional beliefs. Their culture is very archaic.

Pygmies photo (clickable)

The name of this people comes from Greek word pygmaios - "the size of a fist." So, Homer in his immortal "Iliad" called the dwarfs who fought with cranes. The little dancers who entertained the pharaohs were also called Egypt. The European colonialists who came to Africa, faced with this undersized tribe of Africans, whose average height is about 150 cm, considered them descendants of the ancients and borrowed the name.

Where do pygmies live? Pygmies live in difficult places and are extremely reluctant to come into contact with strangers. At the end of the "harvesting" in one area and the end of the hunting season, they move to a new place.

The main male occupation of this people is hunting, and in all its varieties. Pygmies of Africa perfectly comprehended all the secrets of the forest and the habits of animals that are in the area where they are in this moment reside. Hunters set snares and traps, use arrows and bows; if big game is driven in, the “weak” half of the tribe also takes part.

Children, upon reaching the age of ten, build themselves a separate dwelling and begin to live independently from their parents. Elders lead the tribe. They do not steal, they treat liars and unfaithful spouses with contempt, and all problematic issues decide on the general council.

Pygmies: photos of women (clickable)

Misdemeanors that entail punishments up to the prohibition of joint hunting and even expulsion are considered to be the unfair division or concealment of food, spoiling water, damaging trees and hunting animals unnecessarily.

Women always carry a specially made bag with them. It contains everything that can serve as food: plants, roots and stems of edible herbs, seeds, fruits and berries, insects, nuts, caterpillars - everything goes into action.

Some members of the Pygmy tribe are engaged in fishing. As fishing rods, they use flexible tree branches with a wire attached to the end in the form of a hook.

African pygmies exchange their prey and "gifts of nature" for agricultural products and other things. They are mainly attracted to metal products - knives, arrowheads and spearheads, axes and wire, which they use to make primitive tools or decorate weapons with it.

Attempts to fix this people on certain plots of land failed - modern pygmies, like their ancestors, continue to lead a nomadic lifestyle, although in Democratic Republic of the Congo trying to give them primary education and provide medical care.

Short video: pygmies hunting and fishing