Pygmies

I think I have found my current theme for my African Studies' blogs. As it just so happens, one of my wishes has finally come true. I mentioned in class that most videos or documentaries you find on TV and Netflix, are about Africa's wildlife (ecological systems and animals). However, I just so happened to stumble across yet another documentary that has struck my interest in the peoples we tend to assume only live in Africa, tribes and clans of rural areas with no interest in the outside world or technology. As we know, this is not the case in Africa as there are many cities and technology. 

Okay- back to my point. You may have heard of these people, the Pygmies. The pygmies reside deep into the forest in Central African Republic. These peoples are short in stature, what you may call "little people." Their village is organized with a sole patriarch which is usually the elder who makes the decisions for the group. The are multiple groups of pygmies and most of them never seen white men before. The huts they live in are made of banana tree leaves and inside, they lay on bark. In the center of the huts are fires for cooking and warmth. All they food they eat is from what they were able to gather and hunt each day. Like most, if not all African tribes and peoples, music is a main component in their culture.

A horrifying and unfortunately interesting fact is that the Congolese used to hunt Pygmies and eat their meat, thinking that by consuming them, they would acquire their skills of surviving in nature without technological advances. The narrator points out that Pygmy meat is or has been sold in markets. Mind you- Pygmies are human beings. They sometimes hunt elephants, but they do not dare hunt gorillas because they are respected as the animals of the jungle. 

So there is my short synopsis. If you too are interested in learning a little bit more about the Pygmies, look up "Pygmies: Children of the Jungle" on Netflix. 

Enjoy!