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Story Publication logo February 17, 2021

The Sedentarization of the Baka People in Cameroon (French)

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Worm's eye view of buttress roots in the rain forest in Cameroon.
English

For this project, Ndombong Hervé Bertrand immersed himself in the new dietary habits of the pygmies...

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Inhabitants of the Payo community. Image by Hervé Ndombong.

It is almost cliché to say that pygmies subside on the same things on which the Bantu people subside. Similarly, it's a truism to say that they practice hunting, fishing and gathering. They do it today as their ancestors have always done. However, a survey carried out from February 2 to 6, 2021 among the Bakas of Lomié with the support of the Rainforest Journalism Fund, a nonprofit initiative specialized in the treatment of environmental issues related to the world's rainforests, reveals that the changes in these Indigenous populations' culinary tradition could be leading to their demise. We are witnessing a real change that goes so far as to threaten the spiritual richness of the Bakas, who are experiencing the horrors of the destruction of their living space (the forest), which they must now share with the Bantu.


C’est une Lapalissade de dire que les pygmées en général se nourrissent désormais de tout ce dont vivent les bantous. C’est également pareil lorsqu’on affirme que ceux-ci pratiquent la chasse, la pêche et la cueillette. Ils le font aujourd’hui comme l’ont toujours pratiqué leurs ascendants. Toutefois, à l’occasion d’une enquête menée du 02 au 06 février 2021 auprès des Bakas de Lomié avec le concours de Rainforest journalism, une Ong spécialisée dans le traitement des questions d’environnement en lien les forêts humide dans le monde, il est fort étonnant de remarquer que les changements opérés dans la tradition culinaire de ces populations autochtones pourraient bien être leur « tombe ». On assiste en effet à une véritable mutation qui va jusqu’à menacer la richesse spirituelle des Bakas qui subissent au passage les affres de la destruction de leur espace vital (la forêt), eux qui doivent dorénavant combiner avec les bantous.

Read the full article in French on the Mbethen website.

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