Pygmies - a dwarf tribe, Africa. A pygmy is an inhabitant of the equatorial forests of Africa Pygmy tribe 4 letters
The most short people on earth, whose average height does not exceed 141 cm, live in the Congo River basin in Central Africa. “The size of a fist” - this is translated from the Greek pygmalios - the name of the pygmy tribe. There is an assumption that they once occupied all of Central Africa, but were then forced out into the tropical forests.
The daily life of these wild people devoid of romance and associated with the daily struggle for survival when main task men become involved in obtaining food for the entire village. Pygmies are considered the least bloodthirsty hunters. And this is true. They never hunt for the sake of hunting, they never kill animals for the sake of the desire to kill, they never store meat for future use. They do not even bring a killed animal to the village, but butcher it, cook it and eat it right on the spot, calling all the village residents for a meal. Hunting and everything connected with it is the main ritual in the life of the tribe, clearly expressed in folklore: songs about heroic hunters, dances depicting scenes of animal behavior, myths and legends. Before the hunt, men cover themselves and their weapons with mud and dung from the animal they are going to hunt, turn to the spear with a request to be accurate, and set off.
The daily food of the pygmies is plant-based: nuts, edible herbs and roots, palm pith. Seasonal activity is fishing. For fishing Pygmies use a special grass that makes the fish fall asleep, but does not die. The grass leaves are dissolved in the river, and the catch is collected downstream. Particularly dangerous for pygmies is the jungle, full of a variety of wild animals. But the most dangerous is the python. If a pygmy accidentally steps on a python more than 4 meters away, it is doomed. The snake instantly attacks, wraps itself around the body and strangles.
The origin of the pygmies is still not entirely clear. What is known is that the first Europeans only recently entered their world and were met with a rather belligerent reception. The exact number of members of the tribe is not known. According to various sources, there are about 280 thousand of them. The average life expectancy is no more than 45 years for men, women live a little longer. The first child is born at the age of 14-15, but there are no more than two children in a family. Pygmies roam in groups of 2-4 families. They live in low huts covered with grass, which can be made in a few hours. Boys aged 9-16 are circumcised and subjected to other rather cruel tests, accompanied by moral instructions. Only men take part in such rituals.
The tribe has lost its native language, so the dialects of neighboring tribes are most often used. The clothing consists only of a hip belt with an apron. But sedentary pygmies are increasingly wearing European clothes. The main deity is the forest spirit Tore, the owner of forest game, to whom hunters turn with prayer before hunting.
The culture and traditions of the Pygmies are gradually disappearing. New life slowly penetrates into their everyday life, dissolving in itself the way of life of the smallest people on the planet.
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A pygmy is a representative of one of the nationalities living in equatorial forests Africa. This word is of Greek origin and means “a man the size of a fist.” This name is quite justified, given the average height of representatives of these tribes. Find out who the pygmies of Africa are and how they differ from others on the hottest continent.
Who are the pygmies?
These tribes live in Africa, near Ogowe and Ituri. In total, there are about 80 thousand pygmies, half of whom live along the banks of the Ituri River. The height of representatives of these tribes varies from 140 to 150 cm. Their skin color is somewhat atypical for Africans, because they are a little lighter, golden brown. The pygmies even have their own national clothes. Thus, men wear a fur or leather belt with a small apron made of wood in front and a small bunch of leaves at the back. Women are less fortunate; often they only have aprons.
At home
The buildings in which representatives of this people live are made of twigs and leaves, holding everything together with clay. Oddly enough, building and repairing huts here is the job of women. A man, having decided to build a new house, must go to the elder for permission. If the elder agrees, he hands 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. The man does this; all other construction concerns fall on the woman’s shoulders.
Lifestyle
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, as long as there is game around their village. When there are no more unafraid animals, the nomads leave 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 entire tribe, if one of its members dies, migrates, believing that the forest does not want anyone to live in this place. The deceased is buried in his hut, a funeral is held, and the next morning the entire settlement goes deep into the forest to build a new village.
Production
Pygmies feed on what the forest gives them. Therefore, early in the morning, the women of the tribe go there to replenish supplies. Along the way, they collect everything edible, from berries to caterpillars, so that every pygmy fellow tribesman is well-fed. This is an established tradition, according to which the woman is the main breadwinner in the family.
Bottom line
The pygmies are accustomed to the traditions of their life, which have been established for centuries. Despite the fact that the state government is trying to teach them a more civilized life, cultivation of the land and a settled existence, they continue to remain far from this. The pygmies, photographed by many researchers studying their customs, refuse any innovations in their everyday life and continue to do what their ancestors did for many centuries.
Do you know how the word “pygmies” is translated? People the size of a fist. This is the smallest people on the planet.
Most people by the word “pygmies” mean short people living in Africa. Yes, this is partly true, but even the African pygmies are not one people. Various nationalities live on the Dark Continent: the pygmies Batwa, Bakiga, Baka, Aka, Efe, Sua, and this is not the whole list. The height of an adult man usually does not exceed 145 centimeters, and that of a woman - 133 cm.
How do the smallest people on the planet live?
The life of pygmies is not easy) They live in temporary villages in the forests. Why temporary, you ask? The smallest people have a nomadic lifestyle, they are constantly in search of food and look for places rich in fruits and honey. They also have ancient customs. So, if a person dies in the tribe, then he is buried under the roof of the hut and the settlement is abandoned forever.
Near temporary villages, pygmies hunt deer, antelope and monkeys. They also collect fruits and honey. With all this, meat makes up only 9% of their diet, and they exchange the bulk of their production for garden vegetables, metal, fabrics, and tobacco from people who keep farms near the forest.
Little people are considered excellent healers: they prepare medicinal and poisonous potions from plants. It is because of this that other tribes dislike them, since they are attributed magical power.
For example, the pygmies have a curious way of catching fish: first, they poison the pond, which causes the fish to float to the surface. And that’s it, the fishing was a success, all that remains is to collect the catch. No gatherings with fishing rods on the shore or harpoon fishing. After a few hours, the poison stops working and the live fish returns to usual life.
The lifespan of pygmies is very short: from 16 to 24 years. People who live to be 40 years old are truly long-livers. Accordingly, and puberty It occurs much earlier for them: at 12 years of age. Well, they start having offspring at the age of fifteen.
Still in slavery
Africa is the most controversial continent. Slavery has long been prohibited throughout the world, but not here. For example, in the Republic of Congo, according to established tradition, pygmies are inherited among the Bantu people. And these are the real slave owners: the pygmies give them their spoils from the forest. But, unfortunately, the small people are forced to endure such treatment, since the “owners” give them the products and goods necessary for survival, without which it is impossible to live in the forest. Moreover, the pygmies use tricks: they can be “slaved” by several farmers at the same time in different villages. If one owner did not provide food, then perhaps another will make him happy.
Pygmy genocide
The smallest people have been under constant pressure from other tribes for many centuries. And here we are talking not only about slavery, but even about... cannibalism! Moreover, in our modern world, in the 21st century. So, during the period civil war in the Congo (1998-2003), pygmies were simply caught and eaten. Or, for example, in one of the African provinces, North Kivu, at one time there was a group working to prepare the territory for mining. And during the cleansing process they killed and ate the pygmies. And some peoples of the Dark Continent generally believe that the flesh of a pygmy will give magical power, and a relationship with a woman from some low-statured tribes will relieve diseases. That's why rape happens very often here.
Of course, all this affects the life of a small people: there are no more than 280 thousand people left, and this figure is decreasing every year.
Why is he so short?
In fact, the miniature nature of these peoples is explained by evolution. Moreover, in different peoples the reasons are different, this is exactly the conclusion scientists came to. Thus, genetic analyzes have shown that in some tribes (for example, among the Sua and Efa pygmies), a child’s growth limiter is activated already in the womb and babies are born very small. And in other nations (Baka), children are born normal, the same as among representatives of the European races, but in the first two years they grow very slowly. All these changes at the genetic level are provoked by various factors.
Thus, short stature contributes poor nutrition: Pygmies' bodies have shrunk during evolution. The fact is that they need much less food to survive than larger nations. It is also believed that short The tropics also “helped”: after all, body weight affects the amount of heat produced, so large populations have a much greater chance of overheating.
Well, another theory says that miniature makes life easier in the tropics, making pygmies more nimble, because in impenetrable forests this is an excellent quality. This is how evolution helped little people adapt to their lifestyle and climate.
Interesting facts about pygmies that you didn't know before
Fact #1. Many people believe that pygmies live in forests. However, this is not always the case: for example, the Twa pygmies live in deserts and swamps.
Fact #2. Moreover, some anthropologists classify dwarf peoples as pygmies, where a man’s height does not exceed 155 centimeters. In their opinion, pygmies live in different corners planets: in Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Bolivia and Brazil. Here, for example, are the Philippine pygmies:
Fact #3. Most of the words among pygmies are associated with honey and plants. In general, they have lost their native language and now speak the languages of the peoples around them.
Fact #4. Some researchers believe that pygmies are representatives ancient people, which existed more than 70 thousand years ago.
Fact #5. Pygmies were known back in Ancient Egypt. Thus, black dwarfs were brought as gifts to rich nobles.
Fact #6. At the end XIX beginning In the 20th century, pygmy children were sold to zoos in Europe as exhibits.
Fact No. 7. The smallest people in the world are the Efe and Zaire pygmies. The height of women does not exceed 132 cm, and that of men - 143 cm.
Fact #8. In Africa there live not only the shortest people, but also the tallest. In the Dinka tribe, the average height of a man is 190 cm, and a woman is 180 cm.
Fact #9. Pygmies even today do not use a calendar, so they do not know the exact age.
Fact #10. A Caucasian child aged 2.5 years is approximately the same height as a five-year-old pygmy.
Etc.; formerly supposed pygmy languages
Traditional Beliefs
Negrillian type of the large Negroid race
Pygmies(Greek Πυγμαῖοι
- “people the size of a fist”) - a group of short Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa. Another name for African pygmies is negrilli.
Evidence
Mentioned already in ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC. e., at a later time - in ancient Greek sources (in Homer’s Iliad, Herodotus and Strabo).
Pygmies in mythology
Physical type
Among the Efe and Sua peoples living east of the Baka, small children are initially born - the growth limiter turns on during intrauterine development. Baka children are born normal, but in the first two years of life, Baka children grow noticeably slower than Europeans.
Occupation
Pygmies are forest dwellers, and for them the forest is the source of everything they need for life. The main occupations are hunting and gathering. Pygmies do not make stone tools; previously they did not know how to make fire (they carried the source of fire with them). The hunting weapon is a bow with arrows with metal tips, and these tips are often poisoned. Iron is exchanged with neighbors.
Language
Pygmies usually speak the languages of the peoples around them - Efe, Asua, Bambuti, etc. There are some phonetic differences in the Pygmies' dialects, but with the exception of the Baka people, the Pygmies have lost their native languages.
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Notes
Literature
- Putnam E. Eight Years Among the Pygmies / Anne Putnam; With a preface and ed. B. I. Sharevskaya; Artist B. A. Diodorov. - M.: Publishing House of Oriental Literature, 1961. - 184 p. - (Travel to Eastern countries). - 75,000 copies.(region)
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Excerpt characterizing the Pygmies
“Dr... or stupid!...” he said.“And that one is gone! They were already gossiping about her too,” he thought about the little princess, who was not in the dining room.
-Where is the princess? – he asked. - Hiding?...
“She’s not entirely healthy,” said Mlle Bourienne, smiling cheerfully, “she won’t come out.” This is so understandable in her situation.
- Hm! hmm! ugh! ugh! - said the prince and sat down at the table.
The plate did not seem clean to him; he pointed to the spot and threw it. Tikhon picked it up and handed it to the barman. The little princess was not unwell; but she was so insurmountably afraid of the prince that, having heard how out of sorts he was, she decided not to go out.
“I’m afraid for the child,” she said to m lle Bourienne, “God knows what can happen from fright.”
In general, the little princess lived in Bald Mountains constantly under a feeling of fear and antipathy towards the old prince, which she was not aware of, because fear was so dominant that she could not feel it. There was also antipathy on the part of the prince, but it was drowned out by contempt. The princess, having settled down in Bald Mountains, especially fell in love with m lle Bourienne, spent her days with her, asked her to spend the night with her, and often talked to her about her father-in-law and judged him.
“Il nous arrive du monde, mon prince, [Guests are coming to us, prince.],” said M lle Bourienne, unfolding a white napkin with her pink hands. “Son excellence le prince Kouraguine avec son fils, a ce que j"ai entendu dire? [His Excellency Prince Kuragin with his son, how much have I heard?],” she said questioningly.
“Hm... this boy of excellence... I assigned him to the college,” the prince said offended. “Why son, I can’t understand.” Princess Lizaveta Karlovna and Princess Marya may know; I don’t know why he’s bringing this son here. I don't need it. – And he looked at his blushing daughter.
- Unwell, or what? Out of fear of the minister, as that idiot Alpatych said today.
- No, mon pere. [father.]
No matter how unsuccessfully M lle Bourienne found herself on the subject of conversation, she did not stop and chatted about greenhouses, about the beauty of a new blossoming flower, and the prince softened after the soup.
After dinner he went to his daughter-in-law. The little princess sat at a small table and chatted with Masha, the maid. She turned pale when she saw her father-in-law.
The little princess has changed a lot. She was more bad than good now. The cheeks sank, the lip rose upward, the eyes were drawn downwards.
“Yes, it’s some kind of heaviness,” she answered when the prince asked what she felt.
- Do you need anything?
- No, merci, mon pere. [Thank you, father.]
- Well, okay, okay.
He went out and walked to the waitress. Alpatych stood in the waiter's room with his head bowed.
– Is the road blocked?
- Zakidana, your Excellency; Forgive me, for God's sake, for one stupidity.
The prince interrupted him and laughed his unnatural laugh.
- Well, okay, okay.
He extended his hand, which Alpatych kissed, and walked into the office.
In the evening Prince Vasily arrived. He was met at the prespekt (that’s the name of the avenue) by coachmen and waiters, who shouted and drove his carts and sleighs to the outbuilding along a road deliberately covered with snow.
Prince Vasily and Anatoly were given separate rooms.
Anatole sat, having taken off his doublet and resting his hands on his hips, in front of the table, at the corner of which he, smiling, fixed his beautiful large eyes intently and absent-mindedly. He looked upon his entire life as a continuous amusement that someone like that for some reason undertook to arrange for him. Now he looked at his trip to the evil old man and the rich ugly heiress in the same way. All this could have turned out, he supposed, very well and funny. Why not marry if she is very rich? It never interferes, Anatole thought.
He shaved and perfumed himself with care and panache, which had become his habit, and with a good-natured, victorious expression innate to him, carrying high beautiful head, entered his father’s room. Two valets were busy around Prince Vasily, dressing him; he himself looked around animatedly and nodded cheerfully to his son as he entered, as if he were saying: “So, that’s exactly what I need you for!”
- No, no joke, father, is she very ugly? A? – he asked, as if continuing a conversation he had had more than once during the trip.
- That's enough. Nonsense! The main thing is to try to be respectful and reasonable with the old prince.
“If he scolds, I’ll leave,” said Anatole. “I can’t stand these old people.” A?
– Remember that everything depends on this for you.
At this time, the arrival of the minister with his son was not only known in the maid’s room, but appearance both of them have already been described in detail. Princess Marya sat alone in her room and tried in vain to overcome her inner agitation.
“Why did they write, why did Lisa tell me about this? After all, this cannot be! - she said to herself, looking in the mirror. - How do I get out into the living room? Even if I liked him, I couldn’t be on my own with him now.” The thought of her father's gaze terrified her.
The little princess and m lle Bourienne have already received everything necessary information from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome minister's son was, and about how daddy dragged their legs onto the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking three steps at a time, ran after him. Having received this information, the little princess and M lle Bourienne, still audible from the corridor in their animated voices, entered the princess’s room.
Pygmies (Greek Πυγμαῖοι - “people the size of a fist”) are a group of short Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa.
Testimonies and mentions
Mentioned already in ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC. e., at a later time - in ancient Greek sources (in Homer’s Iliad, Herodotus and Strabo).
In the XVI-XVII centuries. they are mentioned under the name "Matimba" in the descriptions left by explorers of West Africa.
In the 19th century, their existence was confirmed by the German researcher Georg August Schweinfurt, the Russian researcher V.V. Juncker and others, who discovered these tribes in tropical forests basin of the Ituri and Uzle rivers (various tribes under the names: Akka, Tikitiki, Obongo, Bambuti, Batwa).
In 1929-1930 P. Shebesta's expedition described the Bambuti pygmies; in 1934-1935, researcher M. Guzinde found the Efe and Basua pygmies.
At the end of the 20th century, they lived in the forests of Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Congo, and Rwanda.
The most ancient mention of pygmies is contained in the story of the Egyptian Hirkhuf, a nobleman from the Old Kingdom, who boasted that he managed to bring a dwarf from his campaign for the amusement of the young king. This inscription refers to III millennium BC e. In an Egyptian inscription the dwarf brought by Hirkhuf is called dng. This name has been preserved to this day in the languages of the peoples of Ethiopia: in Amharic the dwarf is called deng, or dat. Ancient Greek writers tell all sorts of stories about African pygmies, but all their messages 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. The share of women falls most work, since the extraction of plant food is the work of women. Every day, women of the entire living group, accompanied by children, collect wild roots, leaves of edible plants and fruits around their camp, catch worms, snails, frogs, snakes and fish.
The pygmies are forced to leave the camp as soon as all the suitable plants in the vicinity of the camp are eaten and the game is destroyed. The entire group moves to another area of the forest, but wanders within established boundaries. These boundaries are known to everyone and are strictly observed. Hunting on other people's lands is not permitted and may lead to hostile conflicts. Almost all groups of pygmies live in close contact with the tall population, most often the Bantu. Usually the pygmies bring game to the villages and forest products in exchange for bananas, vegetables and iron spearheads. All pygmy groups speak the languages of their tall neighbors.
Pygmy house made of leaves and sticks
The primitive nature of the pygmy culture sharply distinguishes them from the surrounding peoples of the Negroid race. What are pygmies? Is this population autochthonous? Central Africa? Do they constitute a special anthropological type, or is their origin the result of the degradation of the tall type? These are the main questions that form the essence of the pygmy problem, one of the most controversial in anthropology and ethnography. Soviet anthropologists believe that pygmies are aborigines tropical Africa a special anthropological type, of independent origin.
Height ranges from 144 to 150 cm for adult males, light brown skin, curly, dark hair, relatively thin lips, large torso, short arms and legs, this physical type can be classified as a special race. The possible number of pygmies can range from 40 to 280 thousand people.
In terms of external type, the Negritos of Asia are close to them, but genetically there are strong differences between them.