The Batwa pygmy tribe of bwindi, uganda
The Batwa Pygmies: Literally Finding Middle Ground
In Southwestern Uganda, at the edge of the Rift Valley is a community of little people living outside the Buhoma community known as the Batwa or better known as the pygmies. They describe themselves as "Keepers of the Forest," living in symbiotic harmony as hunters and gatherers in Bwindi’s Impenetrable Forest.
Meeting the Batwa Pygmies is like meeting what Mother Nature intended at humanity’s raw inception. It’s as if the great creator forgot to sprinkle in some of that good ol' Western arrogance, forgot a dash of egoism and perhaps added extra benevolent synergy. They’re people free of anxiety, free of vanity, as I understand it, and unencumbered by the company of a white “mzungu.” They approached me ego-less and direct, staring through my eyes, instantly sharing their presence with sincerity I can’t recall experiencing since kindergarten. The Batwa children stepped on my toes and touched the cold steel of my braces. I can’t imagine what they thought they were. Tooth rot? Decoration? A curse? Either way, they were tickled by my temporary companionship and eager to show me their way of life. The teenagers pulled me in one direction to instruct me on shooting a bow and arrow, and the children pulled on my sleeve to show them their image on my camera while the adults jostled to teach me how to start a fire.
With a maximum height of five feet for an adult male, these small statured people make up for what they don’t possess in height with an all-encompassing spirit and an uncompromising connection to nature. There are several hypotheses for what causes their shorter stature. Earlier in the century it was thought that they remained small due to poor nutrition and malnourishment. More recent studies suggest their smaller size is due to high mortality rates and an early peak of sexual maturity.
For centuries the Batwa lived off the fruits of the land in Bwindi, sharing space with the world’s few remaining mountain gorilla families in one of Uganda’s most biologically diverse rainforests. In 1992, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park. In an effort to conserve the mountain gorillas, the Batwa were pushed out of the womb of the forest and forced to live on the outskirts, elevated only slightly above the Bwindi community below. According to the Kellermann Foundation, the Batwa became "Conservation refugees" and were not compensated for their removal and relocation. Some even died during the exile. The Kellermann Foundation has dedicated themselves to the betterment of the Batwa in Southern Uganda having established programs to help support their living conditions by implementing sanitation programs, income-generating projects and the building of schools.
Happy to share their centuries-old forest wisdom with me, the Batwa brought twigs, leaves and plants of different variety explaining to our translator, Levi, in careful detail how each of them are utilized for medicinal purposes for curing ailments ranging from digestive upset to fertility and even broken bones. The forest is their medicine, their God and their home; it is where they are born and where they will return. This phrase, Levi uttered in several different ways, was tossed into conversation at regular intervals. Walking through their land I found man-made dwellings carved out amongst the brush of their walkways. They resemble primitive caves etched out of the thick branches of the forest. “Sometimes they sleep here. It makes them feel closer to the forest,” Levi explained.
The struggle now exists in preserving the way of life for the Batwa while maintaining the preservation of the park and the community’s mountain gorillas. “It’s difficult,” Levi says. “Because the way of the Batwa is important and the forest is important. How can we maintain the integrity of both?” It has been feared that the Batwa have become overzealous with their usage of the forest’s sacred treasures. It has even been surmised that gorillas were hunted on occasion.
Wedged between two worlds, the Batwa are in a transitional phase of their culture. The elders crave to preserve their ancestral heritage while the younger are more apt to assimilate with their neighbors. “Some Batwa have implemented themselves within the Bwindi community with one even graduating from college,” Levi explained. Their primary source of otherworldly financial sustenance comes from welcoming pale mzungu visitors into their new dwellings at the foothills of the great rainforest they once called home. Visitors serve two purposes. One is to provide a stream of income from the crafts they sell. The other is to practice the cultural rituals that have defined their people in hopes of preserving their traditions despite the youngsters’ ever-increasing temptation to assimilate with the outside community.
Statistics not gathered from the Batwa directly were found here:
http://www.batwaexperience.com/batwa-experience-history
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-pygmies-evolved-to-be-shorter/
In Southwestern Uganda, at the edge of the Rift Valley is a community of little people living outside the Buhoma community known as the Batwa or better known as the pygmies. They describe themselves as "Keepers of the Forest," living in symbiotic harmony as hunters and gatherers in Bwindi’s Impenetrable Forest.
Meeting the Batwa Pygmies is like meeting what Mother Nature intended at humanity’s raw inception. It’s as if the great creator forgot to sprinkle in some of that good ol' Western arrogance, forgot a dash of egoism and perhaps added extra benevolent synergy. They’re people free of anxiety, free of vanity, as I understand it, and unencumbered by the company of a white “mzungu.” They approached me ego-less and direct, staring through my eyes, instantly sharing their presence with sincerity I can’t recall experiencing since kindergarten. The Batwa children stepped on my toes and touched the cold steel of my braces. I can’t imagine what they thought they were. Tooth rot? Decoration? A curse? Either way, they were tickled by my temporary companionship and eager to show me their way of life. The teenagers pulled me in one direction to instruct me on shooting a bow and arrow, and the children pulled on my sleeve to show them their image on my camera while the adults jostled to teach me how to start a fire.
With a maximum height of five feet for an adult male, these small statured people make up for what they don’t possess in height with an all-encompassing spirit and an uncompromising connection to nature. There are several hypotheses for what causes their shorter stature. Earlier in the century it was thought that they remained small due to poor nutrition and malnourishment. More recent studies suggest their smaller size is due to high mortality rates and an early peak of sexual maturity.
For centuries the Batwa lived off the fruits of the land in Bwindi, sharing space with the world’s few remaining mountain gorilla families in one of Uganda’s most biologically diverse rainforests. In 1992, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest became a national park. In an effort to conserve the mountain gorillas, the Batwa were pushed out of the womb of the forest and forced to live on the outskirts, elevated only slightly above the Bwindi community below. According to the Kellermann Foundation, the Batwa became "Conservation refugees" and were not compensated for their removal and relocation. Some even died during the exile. The Kellermann Foundation has dedicated themselves to the betterment of the Batwa in Southern Uganda having established programs to help support their living conditions by implementing sanitation programs, income-generating projects and the building of schools.
Happy to share their centuries-old forest wisdom with me, the Batwa brought twigs, leaves and plants of different variety explaining to our translator, Levi, in careful detail how each of them are utilized for medicinal purposes for curing ailments ranging from digestive upset to fertility and even broken bones. The forest is their medicine, their God and their home; it is where they are born and where they will return. This phrase, Levi uttered in several different ways, was tossed into conversation at regular intervals. Walking through their land I found man-made dwellings carved out amongst the brush of their walkways. They resemble primitive caves etched out of the thick branches of the forest. “Sometimes they sleep here. It makes them feel closer to the forest,” Levi explained.
The struggle now exists in preserving the way of life for the Batwa while maintaining the preservation of the park and the community’s mountain gorillas. “It’s difficult,” Levi says. “Because the way of the Batwa is important and the forest is important. How can we maintain the integrity of both?” It has been feared that the Batwa have become overzealous with their usage of the forest’s sacred treasures. It has even been surmised that gorillas were hunted on occasion.
Wedged between two worlds, the Batwa are in a transitional phase of their culture. The elders crave to preserve their ancestral heritage while the younger are more apt to assimilate with their neighbors. “Some Batwa have implemented themselves within the Bwindi community with one even graduating from college,” Levi explained. Their primary source of otherworldly financial sustenance comes from welcoming pale mzungu visitors into their new dwellings at the foothills of the great rainforest they once called home. Visitors serve two purposes. One is to provide a stream of income from the crafts they sell. The other is to practice the cultural rituals that have defined their people in hopes of preserving their traditions despite the youngsters’ ever-increasing temptation to assimilate with the outside community.
Statistics not gathered from the Batwa directly were found here:
http://www.batwaexperience.com/batwa-experience-history
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-pygmies-evolved-to-be-shorter/