The Pygmies of Africa are the “little people” of the continent. The smallest people in the world Pygmy language

First, let's get acquainted with the facts and reports of scientists about the pygmy tribes. There is not as much information about mysterious short people as we would like, so all of them are important. Where and how they live, who they are: a “mistake” or a “regularity” of Nature; Perhaps, having understood their “features”, we will be able to take a better look at ourselves? After all, we are all children of one planet, their problems cannot be alien to us.

“The first ancient evidence of pygmies was left by a Greek historian of the 5th century. to x. e. Herodotus. When he was traveling in Egypt, he was told a story about how one day young men from African tribe Nasamonov decided to “take a trip around Libyan desert with the goal of penetrating further and seeing more of all those who had previously visited its most remote parts, “...” the Nasamons returned safely and that all the people [pygmies] to whom they came were magicians.”

“Another evidence about the pygmies was left to us by the largest Roman scientist Pliny the Elder (24-79 AD). In his Natural History he writes: “Some report a tribe of pygmies living among swamps, of which the Nile begins"".(1*)
“One of the civilizations where the pygmies lived and which has now gone into oblivion located on Hawaiian Islands. "..." Today, pygmy tribes live in Africa (Central equatorial zone) And South-East Asia(Andaman Islands, Philippines, and Malacca Rainforests)."

Hunters and gatherers in Africa are represented by three main groups - the Pygmies of Central Africa, the Bushmen South Africa and Hadza East Africa. Neither the Pygmies nor the Bushmen are a single monolith - each of these groups consists of tribes or other ethnic communities at different levels of socio-historical and cultural development.

Name pygmies comes from the Greek pygmaios (literally, the size of a fist). Main countries of settlement: Zaire - 165 thousand people, Rwanda - 65 thousand people, Burundi - 50 thousand people, Congo - 30 thousand people, Cameroon - 20 thousand people, Central African Republic - 10 thousand. people, Angola - 5 thousand people, Gabon - 5 thousand people. They speak Bantu languages.

Pygmies were one of the races that came out of Africa and settled in southern Asia, where they were very common in ancient times. The modern population of pygmies lives not only in Africa but also in some areas of South Asia, such as Aeta and Batak in the Philippines, Semang in Malaysia, Mani in Thailand. The average height of an adult man is about 140 cm. Women are about 120 cm. Increasingly tall pygmies are the result of interracial mixing with neighboring tribes.

“PYGMIES. Have proportional healthy body , only in a reduced size. Anatomy and physiology are close to normal".

“Among the pygmies there are those who are a little sexual (Amazonians) and easily excitable (Bushmen, who have a constant erection), there are very infantile ones - and very masculine (bearded, muscular, with large facial features, chests, unlike Negroids, hairy). African pygmies are very musical and flexible. They hunt elephants. Nilotic giants live next to them, the most tall people on the ground. They say that Nilotes willingly take pygmy women as wives, but are afraid of men.”

Previously, it was believed that the short stature of the pygmies was due to the poor quality of food and some special diet, but this version has not been confirmed. There are other races living nearby - the Masai and Sumburu in Kenya, who do not eat much better, but are considered the highest in the world. At one time, for the purpose of experimentation, a group of pygmies was fed fully and for a long time, but their growth and the growth of their offspring did not increase.

Pygmies Central Africa can be divided into three geographically distinct groups: 1) the Pygmies of the Ituri River basin, known as the Bambuti, Wambuti or Mbuti and linguistically divided into three subgroups: the Efe, Basua or Sua, and aka (about which more in this article); 2) the pygmies of the Great Lakes region - the Twa, inhabiting Rwanda and Burundi, and scattered groups surrounding them; 3) pygmies of the western regions tropical forest- Baguielli, Obongo, Akoa, Bachwa, Bayele, etc. In addition, there is another group of East African pygmies - Boni.

Now the pygmies have come tough times, they are dying out due to diseases like measles and smallpox, which, in combination with poor nutrients food and heavy exercise lead to high mortality. In some tribes average duration life is only 20 years. The taller and stronger black tribes oppress the pygmies and force them into unsuitable areas for existence.

Some scientists are also trying to link short period the lives of pygmies with their growth (compare the life expectancy of an elephant and a mouse). In general, all researchers of this people agree that the study of pygmies helps to better understand the principles of evolution and human adaptability to different conditions environment.

The high demand for bushmeat forces pygmies to poach in reserves. The unreasonable extermination of endangered animals may soon become a threat to the existence of the pygmy tribes themselves - a vicious circle from which it is no longer possible to escape.

Pygmies go poaching in the reserve, weapons - trapping nets and spears.

Here is the prey, catching an antelope is a great success.

“Pygmies are a nomadic people. Several times a year they leave their homes and, together with all their simple belongings, go along hidden paths into the most remote corners of the forest.”
“... pygmies live in huts that look like small green tubercles.”

“The pygmies constantly keep the fire going. When moving to another site, they carry burning brands with them, since striking a fire with flint is very long and difficult.”

“There is no real clay capable of holding buildings together, and the rains destroy the pygmy “structures.” Therefore, they have to be repaired frequently. You can always see this activity only women. Girls who have not yet started a family and own home, according to local customs they are not allowed to do this work.”

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 African pygmies- this is 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 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? At the very small people 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 its normal 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, they reach puberty much earlier: 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 resort to 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 European races, but in the first two years they grow very slowly. All these changes at the genetic level are provoked various factors.

Thus, poor nutrition contributes to short stature: the body of pygmies has decreased in the process of 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 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. IN late XIX At the beginning of 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.

Baka pygmies inhabit rainforests in southeastern Cameroon, northern Republic of Congo, northern Gabon and southwestern Central African Republic. In February 2016, photographer and journalist Susan Shulman spent several days among the Baka pygmies, reporting on their lives.

Tropical rain forests - their natural environment a habitat. Their main occupations are hunting and gathering; in this harmonious unity with nature they live for centuries, and their world is determined by the presence of forests. Pygmy tribes are scattered across Africa over an area of ​​178 million hectares.

Pygmies are distinguished from representatives of other African tribes by their miniature size - their height rarely exceeds 140 cm. In the photo above, members of the tribe are conducting a traditional hunting ceremony.

Susan Shulman became interested in the life of the Baka pygmies after hearing about Louis Sarno, an American scientist who has been living among the Baka pygmies in Central Africa, V rain forest between Cameroon and the Republic of Congo.

Louis Sarno is married to a woman from the tribe, and all these years he has been studying, helping and treating the Baka pygmies. According to him, half of the children do not live to be five years old, and if he left the tribe for at least a year, he would be afraid to return, because he would not find many of his friends alive. Louis Sarno is now in his early sixties, and the average life expectancy of Baka pygmies is forty years.

Louis Sarno not only provides medical supplies, but also does other things: he acts as a teacher for children, a lawyer, a translator, an archivist, a writer and a chronicler for a community of 600 Baka pygmies in the village of Yandoubi.

Louis Sarno came to live with the Pygmies in the mid-80s after he heard their music on the radio one day and decided to go and record as much of their music as possible. And he doesn’t regret it one bit. He has the opportunity to regularly visit America and Europe, but always returns to Africa. You could say that a song led him to the heart of Africa.

Baka Pygmy music is yodeling-like multi-sound chanting set to the natural sounds of the rainforest. Imagine polyphony 40 women's voices and a drum beat tapped by four men on plastic barrels.

Louis Sarno claims he's never heard anything like it before, and it's divine.

Their hypnotic music usually acts as a prelude to a hunt, as the tribe sings to summon the forest spirit called Bobi and ask him for permission to hunt in his forest.

Dressed in a suit of leaves, the "spirit of the forest" grants permission to the tribe and blesses those who will take part in tomorrow's hunt. In the photo above, a pygmy is about to go hunting with a net.

The diet of the tribe is based on the meat of monkey and blue duiker, a small forest antelope, but in Lately There are fewer and fewer of these animals in the forest. This is due to poaching and logging.

“Poachers hunt at night, they scare the animals with torches and calmly shoot them while they stand paralyzed with fear. The nets and arrows of the tank pygmies can't compete with firearms poachers.

Deforestation and poachers seriously devastate the forest and greatly harm the way of life of the Baka pygmies. Many of these poachers are members of the neighboring Bantu ethnic group, which makes up the majority of the population in the region,” says Susan Shulman.

As the rain forests in which the Baka live are gradually depleted, their future forest house is in question, since it is unclear where all this will lead.

Historically, the Bantu tribe considered the Baka pygmies to be "subhuman" and discriminated against them. Currently, relations between them have improved, but some echoes of the past still make themselves felt.

As the traditional life of the Baka pygmies becomes more difficult and problematic day by day, the younger generation has to look for work in the Bantu-dominated cities.

“Young people are now at the forefront of change. There are very few opportunities for them to earn money. As the forest's resources for hunting are depleted, we have to look for other opportunities - and this is usually only temporary work for the Bantu, who offer, say, $1 for five days of hunting - and even then they often forget to pay,” says Susan.

The first mentions of pygmies were made in ancient Egyptian records dating back to the 3rd millennium BC. Later, ancient Greek historians wrote about pygmies Herodotus, Strabo, Homer. Real existence these African tribes were only confirmed in the 19th century by a German traveler Georg Schweinfurt, Russian explorer Vasily Junker and others.

The height of adult male pygmies is from 144-150 cm in height. Women - about 120 cm. They have short limbs and light brown skin, which serves as excellent camouflage in the forest. The hair is dark, curly, the lips are thin.

Occupation

Pygmies live in forests. For them, the forest is the highest deity - the source of everything necessary for survival. The traditional occupation for most pygmies is hunting and gathering. They hunt birds, elephants, antelopes and monkeys. For hunting they use short bows and poisoned arrows. Besides different meats, pygmies are very fond of honey from wild bees. In order to get to their favorite treat, they have to climb 45-meter trees, after which they use ash and smoke to disperse the bees. Women collect nuts, berries, mushrooms and roots.

Pygmies live in small groups of at least 50 members. Each group has a special area for building huts. Marriages between members of different tribes are quite common here. Also, absolutely any member of the tribe, whenever he wishes, can freely leave and join another tribe. There are no formal leaders in the tribe. Issues and problems that arise are resolved through open negotiations.

Weapon

Weapons are a spear, a small bow, and arrows (often poisoned). Pygmies trade iron for arrowheads from neighboring tribes. Various traps and snares are widely used.

Pygmies are the most famous dwarf tribes living in the forests of tropical Africa. The main areas of concentration of pygmies today: Zaire (165 thousand people), Rwanda (65 thousand people), Burundi (50 thousand people), Congo (30 thousand people), Cameroon (20 thousand people) and Gabon (5 thousand people).

Mbutis- a tribe of pygmies living in the Ituri forest in Zaire. Most scientists believe that they were most likely the first inhabitants of this region.

Twa (Batwa)- a tribe of pygmies equatorial Africa. They live both in the mountains and on the plains near Lake Kivu in Zaire, Burundi and Rwanda. They maintain close ties with neighboring pastoral tribes and know how to make pottery.

Tswa (batswa)- this large tribe lives near the swamp south of the river Congo. They, like the Twa tribe, live in cooperation with neighboring tribes, adopting their culture and language. Most Tswa are engaged in hunting or fishing.

- (Pygmaei, Πυγμαι̃οι). Mythical people of dwarfs, the size of πηγμή, τ. i.e. height no more than the distance from elbow to fist. According to Homer, they lived on the shores of the Ocean; Subsequently, the sources of the Nile, as well as India, began to be considered their location. Current... ... Encyclopedia of Mythology

A group of peoples belonging to the Negrill race, the indigenous population of tropical Africa. They speak the languages ​​Bantu (Twa, 185 thousand people, 1992; Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire), Adamaua of the eastern group (Aka, Binga, etc., 35 thousand people; Congo, Central African Republic) and Shari... ... Big encyclopedic Dictionary

- (foreign language) people are morally insignificant. Wed. For the crowd he is great, for the crowd he is a prophet; For himself he is nothing, for himself he is a pygmy!... Nadson. “Look, there he is!” Cf. In the midst of his wanderings, he loved his poor Fatherland. She is surrounded by blizzards, She is surrounded by pygmies... ... Michelson's Large Explanatory and Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Modern encyclopedia

From ancient Greek: Pigmaios. Literally: The size of a fist. In ancient times Greek mythology Pygmies were the name given to the fairy-tale people of dwarfs who were so small that they often became victims of cranes, like frogs. Therefore, the dwarfs had to... ... Dictionary of popular words and expressions

A people of dwarfs who, according to the legendary tales of the Greeks, lived on the shores of the ocean (Homer) and on the sources of the Nile (late writers), where they waged a constant struggle with cranes. Dictionary foreign words, included in the Russian language. Pavlenkov F., 1907. Pygmies ... Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language

- (Pugmaioi), own. people the size of a fist in Greek mythology, a fabulous people of dwarfs living in Libya. The Iliad (III, 6) tells about their battles with the cranes (cf. L. v. Sybel, Mythologie der Ilias, 1877, and L. F. Voevodsky, Introduction to Mythology ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

Pygmies- PYGMIES, a group of peoples: Twa, Binga, Bibaya, Gielli, Efe, Kango, Aka, Mbuti with a total number of 350 thousand people belonging to the Negrill race, indigenous population Tropical Africa. The name comes from the Greek pygmaios (literally the size of... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

A group of peoples in Central Africa. Total number 390 thousand people (1995). They speak Bantu languages. Many pygmies retain wandering image life, archaic culture, traditional beliefs. * * * PYGMIES PYGMIES, a group of peoples belonging to ... ... encyclopedic Dictionary

PYGMIES- (from the Greek “fist” or “distance” from the fist to the elbow) in Greek mythology, a tribe of dwarfs, symbolizing the barbaric world. The name is associated with the small stature of the pygmies and symbolizes a distorted perception of the true ethnic group. The Greeks determined... ... Symbols, signs, emblems. Encyclopedia

Books

• Kremlin pygmies against the titan Stalin, Sergei Kremlev. Although Putin and Medvedev are the same height as Stalin, in comparison with the titanic achievements of the Leader, the current owners of the Kremlin look like mere dwarfs. And the pygmies will always envy political...
• Kremlin pygmies against the titan Stalin, or Russia, which must be found, Sergei Kremlev. Although Putin and Medvedev are the same height as Stalin, in comparison with the titanic achievements of the Leader, the current owners of the Kremlin look like mere dwarfs. And the pygmies will always envy political...