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Pygmies are an ancient race of people who inhabit the rainforests of Cameroon and the Central African Republic. With an average height of less than 5 feet, Africa's oldest known surviving people are forest dwellers, who live intimately and harmoniously within their habitat.

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They possess extraordinary skills, adapted over time, which enable them to survive and prosper in this difficult environment.

But their environment is changing forever .....

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TITLE:

Pygmies - looking for a new life

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This is Cameroon, a richly endowed country which benefits from its location on

the North Atlantic coast.   Here there are many natural resources, from petroleum

to timber.  It boasts 17 million hectares of tropical rainforest making it one of

Africa's best suppliers of timber. 

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Logging has become extremely profitable for Cameroon and the country is exploiting its assets to the full. With only 7% of this rain forest protected by government, there are rich pickings for the timber companies.

1.33

Many of the trees felled are over 900 years old and form the heart of the forest's  eco-system. The pygmies witness their habitat disappearing and with it any hope of maintaining their way of life.     Ironically, for many pygmies, the only way out is to find work with the logging companies and by doing this  contributing to their environment's destruction.

2.10

This is a French logging company and is typical of the way many businesses now work in Cameroon.  Until recently, logs were simply felled here and then immediately shipped out of the country; however, the law now requires them to be processed in the villages where they're felled.  This policy is designed to help the pygmies but rarely more than a few find work here.

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Those that are fortunate enough to be employed are usually stuck at the bottom of the pecking order. They are tolerated by the other workers, but not respected and often get the menial jobs to do.

2.53

Jean-Claude Escassut is one of six European managers at the timber factory.  He finds the pygmies difficult to work with and feels they are undesirable employees.

3.04

Jean-Claude Escassut

Sawmill Manager

It's hard to work with Pygmies. When the hunting season or harvest time arrives, they simply leave - sometimes for 15 days, sometimes for up to three weeks. For us they're not people you can rely on. When people won't change their mentality they can't be integrated into the workplace - especially not in a timber factory.

3.31

Libongo is the local village and was established by the timber company.  It houses  over 8000 people from all corners of the country.  Most of the workers are Bantu, the predominant black population in Cameroon.

3.46

The Pygmies struggle for respect amongst the Bantu.   Damas Neownga is one of the few pygmies to find work in the timber industry and feels it's difficult.

3.56

Damas Neownga

Pygmy Timber Worker

It's the others, they don't want to work with us. - The wages and the money - they want to share amongst themselves. We always get the smallest amount.

4.13

Libongo survives only because of the timber industry.   It's homes are constructed from the left over wood and the factory's wages enable the workers to trade. But the Pygmies here feel a lack of identity since they gave up their nomadic lifestyle. Their freedom is disappearing.  They used to live at one with the forest - now they work for the bantu or whites.

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It's for hunting that the Bantu need the Pygmy's traditional skills.

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The Pygmies know the forest better than anyone - they know how to find food and water and how to survive.

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They've grown up with animals and can imitate their sounds, like the bleat of a small gazelle in distress.

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The monkeys are inquisitive..........and that's their death sentence.

5.29

From a distance of 40 metres he's right on target. Monkeys are hard to kill - but the hunter gets him straight in the heart. The machete takes care of the rest.  It's the law of the land here and the pygmies see no reason to change it.

5.57

Matthias Heinze works for a German Development organisation GTZ. Together with the World Wildlife Fund - He wants to make another 6000 square kilometres of rainforest a protected zone.

Matthias Heinze

GTZ Project Leader

We're standing here in the middle of the Congo Forest block - the second largest area of rain forest on earth after the Amazon - it's  been exploited for years - and events are taking their expected toll.  Logging is continuing despite all the protests in Europe.

6.34

Despite their skills, some Pygmies do long for change and are drawn towards life beyond the rainforest.

6.39

Victor Mbongo

Pygmy -hunter

We Pygmies want to develop more and not live like our ancestors used to.

6.54

Joseph Yay

Pygmy-hunter

Before we just used to live in the forest. Then the tall people came and said you can't live like this.  Come out and we'll show you everything you can do, how to develop. At first, we'd run away from the villages and hide ourselves but eventually we said this is getting us nowhere and we began to leave the forest.

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Unfortunately, the Pygmies who've abandoned their traditional way of life are caught between two worlds.  In their new lives they're disrespected and poorly treated by the Bantu and forced into jobs they don't want.  Instead many use their forest skills to lure animals for the rich foreigners to shoot ending up as trophies for their living room walls.

7.54

Around 20 tourists - mostly from America - have come here for two weeks hunting. They've paid up to $20,000 each.   Dogs are used to make it easier for the hunters. Trained to circle the game, the dogs allow an easy kill.  This form of hunting offers little challenge for the tourist whilst ignoring the hunting traditions of the pygmy and the eco balance of the region.

8.21

Matthias Heinze

GTZ Project Leader

The logging has created other problems, especially for wildlife. Poaching of all kinds is widespread. There are many different animal species here that need to be protected in the wild.  Large mammals as well as small ones. It's the well-known philosophy here, if it moves, eat it. There are also dogs, cats, bats and similar kinds of animals, which normally you don't find on the list of protected species.

9.02

This rain forest has one of the greatest concentrations of apes with over 10'000 living here but monkeys of every kind are a treat for the Pygmies.  Although it seems unnecessary to hunt monkeys Pygmies only eat what they need and rarely kill without reason.

9.26

The preparation is simple. The monkey goes straight onto the fire where the fur is burnt off.  Later the brain will be the most sought after part.

9.42

Mothers are shot too and their offspring are kept as pets.

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Another speciality are snakes which can earn good money on the open market. Many pygmies now make their living out of hunting and selling these protected species. Whilst across Africa a significant amount of protected land has been allocated for animals, less than 1% of its total remains as forest for the pygmies to live in.  Anything they don't eat themselves is hung up to be bartered and sold.  75% of them living in Cameroon, now live alongside roads and this kind of trading is their only means of existence.

10.35

The Pygmies have traditionally hunted with spears, slingshots and bows and arrows.

The Bantus now distribute rifles to the Pygmies...that way the Bantus claim the game and the pygmies earn a few pennies for their trouble.

11.00

It's the Bantu who are the region's farmers,  growing cocoa, tobacco and corn.

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They're ruthless businessman who hire the Pygmies in to do the hard work and usually pay them not in cash, but in alcohol, clothes and food ... if any money does change hands it's rarely more than a dollar a day. 

11.20

The pygmies feel exploited,  but their Bantu employers don't see it that way.

11.37

Valere Dila

Cocoa Farmer

The Pygmies are free people. If they don't want to work for money, they can leave. It's their choice.

11.50

Gerard Sindemo

Cocoa Farmers son

We treat the Pygmies like all the other workers. People say we pay them badly. That's only because the Pygmies are poorly trained compared to the others. Generally speaking the Pygmies can't handle the work. One minute they're here, the next minute they've gone.

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Only a few Pygmies have been to school. Although they speak both their native and local languages, counting, reading and writing are usually foreign to them. This has a lot to do with their exploitation and the government's limited schooling schemes.

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Some are trying to change the status quo. This small group has banded together, cleared the forest and begun to plant crops. They want to escape their dependency and banish the apathy that's emerged over time.

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Since they've been living alongside the main roads, the social unity they had in the forest has disappeared. They want to learn, not just to live for the day, but to plant enough food to sell and to carve out a niche for themselves in the future.

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These pygmies have formed a union of sorts and have refused to work for the bantu.

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Vincent Gobo

We're not from the same race as them. There's a big difference between us. The villagers only want to treat us badly and we'll not allow this anymore.

13.38

Ernest Adjina

We've got to go to school to be on a par with the Bantus. Our educational level is too low. Now we can see how the locals are exploiting us. That's over - they won't be able to carry on the same way with us as they did with our forefathers. They're no better than we are. That's why we've started to organise ourselves.

14.20

Ernest and the others are only prepared to continue working for the farmers if they double their wages.

14.30

But the pygmies aren't alone in their struggle.  Aid and Charity workers claim these tribes form an invaluable part of the forest and their role needs to be maintained.

14.44

Matthias Heinze

GTZ Project Leader

The Pygmies should be plying decisive role here because they're the knowledge carriers,  if I can call it that. They're the traditional users of the forest's biological resources. They live in the forest and for the forest. It forms the basis of their whole social life and religion.

15.18 Pause for Church

15.21 And religion has been a major influence on the Pygmy's situation. The Catholic Church under the guise of wanting to help the Pygmies and remove injustice has contributed to destroying their traditional way of life. It was the priests, nuns and ministers who lured them away from their previous lives.

15.40

With each day like the next the pygmies never used to have a Sunday.  But the church changed all that, by insisting they come each week to listen to sermons held by white preachers.

15.60

The missionaries are now having a tough time finding new converts. After 25 years the Catholic priests are leaving the villages. Although some new priests arrive they bring with them old values. A Polish priest and relic of the past, is trying his luck in conquering some of the local customs.

16.25

Yasek Nosowicz

Priest

It is true that often our teaching doesn't work. There's too much witchcraft and lies amongst the population. It's really another world. Evil is often working against us. We have a lot to do.  But you can't lose heart, even when you don't see the fruits of your labour and they remain invisible. For a priest it's terribly disheartening.

16.56

Matthias Heinze

GTZ Project Leader

Unfortunately, or perhaps luckily, the gods of the Pygmies don't feel at home in this environment any more. They've been indoctrinated over the last twenty years by the Catholic church,  with a religious and moral ideology which is completely foreign to them. This has helped them on the one hand to become more accepted but they remain in a state of flux. I'd say they weren't necessarily crucified, but they have been socially degraded and are treated accordingly.

17.51

The Sanga river divides the homelands of the pygmies.  Across from Cameroon on the other side is the Central African Republic. Less developed than it's neighbour and  more densely forested, the pygmies that live here maintain their old way of life.  The only method of transport between the two countries is the canoe.

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The river communities live without the basic amenities.  There's no power or clean water so they survive by relying on the natural environment and using the forest nearby for everything they need including an array of grubs, termites and other wild life.

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Despite their forest location the people that live here have a number of basic commodities more usual in the logging communities like coffee, sugar, and matches and soap.

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Because there's little money here they exchange wild animals and root vegetables with the Bantu for these basic goods.

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One major problem for the pygmies is child mortality.  Babies are only named several days after their birth, when it's certain that they'll survive.

From a young age they're taken into the forest to gather fruits and leaves.

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Unsurprisingly Pygmies consider children their greatest treasure. 

No one knows how many Pygmies live deep in the rain forest.  There could be tribes still undisturbed by civilisation.  Even the missionaries don't venture there

19.55

Every few days Emile Mawadja prepares for a hunting trip.  Usually he goes alone but this time he wants to go for longer and is taking his family with him.

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Emile's about 50 years old - although Pygmies never know exactly how old they are.  Slowly, he prepares his arrows which are crafted from the veins of  palm leaves. They're extremely light and only a few millimetres thick.  He cuts a leaf in the shape of a triangle to guide the arrow's flight. In contrast to the Cameroon Pygmies, those in the Central African Republic rarely use firearms.

20.44 The arrow's poison is made from the roots of the vine. It's lethal to humans, and paralyses the heart. Several hundred years ago, this hunting technique was brought to West Africa by the Portuguese and the Pygmies have carried the method into the present day.

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Emile and his wife Eliqua have eight children. Pygmies here still live in traditional leaf houses and the whole family sleeps under the same roof.

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Traditionally a Pygmy group is no larger than 30 people. Emile and his wife, their grown up children and other relatives all live together. In a true hunting and gathering democracy each person carries out certain tasks without the need for social ranking or hierarchy.

21.52

The practice of filing canine teeth used to be widespread in Africa but, today, only the Pygmies continue the tradition. It involves breaking part of the tooth off and the process begins when a child's about seven. Unsurprisingly, the tooth breaking is extremely painful, but is considered beautiful and they tell us that the pain is worth the price of beauty.

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But the most desirable object for the young is a radio, whether it works properly or not.  Usually they can't even afford the batteries.

22.27

School begins - but only for those who go to church or receive education from a development organisation. The government plans to provide free education for all pygmy children but state schools have been closed for a year because of a general strike.

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This is a pre-school for Pygmy children and the aim is to prepare them for the state schools.  Although many of the pygmy traditions are vanishing, music is still an important part of their cultural heritage and at this school it's a fundamental ingredient of the school day.

23.09

Mbutu Aim

Pygmy - teacher

Usually the state schools don't respect us or our way of life. Those who go to school often end up living in the city. And now fewer and fewer pygmies are living in the forest. But a Pygmy can never completely forget the life of the forest. Wherever he lives, even if he lives in France... If he comes back, he's got to go gathering in the forest - even if he's been away a long time. The forest is a part of us.

23.48

The same is true for Emile's family. They disappear for long periods into the bush and some of the children who go to school are left behind.  Others go to help with the hunt.

24.00

The family is visiting an old camp of theirs.  The women set to work as they are in charge of rebuilding the huts.  Pygmy groups value the welfare of the group over and above the health of individuals.

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The men take control of preparing for the hunt, which is their responsibility. Women and children are only allowed to help when they use nets to trap animals. But women never carry the nets or hunt with a spear or bow and arrow. That's man's work.

24.46

Metimbo is Emile's youngest daughter.  A few days ago she gave birth to her son Kombolo. Usually a young couple live with the wife's group until the birth of their first child. It's a sign of respect from the husband towards his mother-in-law. Later, the couple will live with the husband's group. Sometimes, if there's been a quarrel, the Pygmies pack up and go to live with other relatives.

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Emile's a loner but an excellent hunter.  Using both lips and pipes he can imitate every animal sound in the forest.

25.34

Pygmy men used to wear only a penis gourd and nothing else.  Emile can remember his grandfather dressed like this, but his father wore cast-off clothes - mainly from the Bantus.

25.50

He moves through the jungle with silent stealth. There's not even the sound a twig breaking.  To the untrained eye there's nothing here to see, but for Emile the solitude presents all sorts of hunting possibilities.

26.11

In a short space of time the women have found some food. Elia has gathered some coconuts and vine leaves.  The leaves are a real favourite and are lightly seasoned with salt and chilli.  While it's cooking there's time for young one to feed.

26.32

It's now evening and Emile arrives back at camp after a successful day's hunting. He shot a monkey using a poisoned arrow and then tracked the monkey for hours through the jungle until the poison took effect.

26.50

While this form of hunting takes all day it's the women who generally provide most of the families food.  Although their diet is usually vegetarian, gathered from over 80 different kinds of plants,  meat of all types is relished.

27.05

But there are other more startling ways of finding food. 

27.24

Even when fishing, the pygmies can attract the fish by making certain sounds.

27.37

After hunting and fishing, gathering is by far the most important means of food collection. The rain forest offers a rich bounty of food but the Pygmies only harvest what they need for the day. They don't keep stockpiles of supplies. In the humid climate of the rain forest, the food would soon rot.

27.58

Grubs are considered a real delicacy, while another catch, worms can be found living in rotting tree trunks. Termites, grasshoppers, crickets, beetles are all popular for roasting over the fire. 

28.10

The trees are carefully inspected and the worms are plucked out. They're boiled in water or cooked directly over the fire.

28.29

Every day the women dig out vine roots which are deep underground.  It's something they can barter with during their trading with the Bantu.

28.49

It's evening and entertainment time - even the little ones join in.

29.00

Every day the women dig out vine roots which are deep underground. It's something they can barter with during their trading with the Bantu.

Each machete swipe is adeptly executed.

28.49

It's evening and entertainment time - even the little ones join in.

29.00

Every family cooks for itself. The food gathered during the day is divided up between the families. There's no male dominance here and the men have to wait until the women and children have finished.

29.22

Although this group is surviving well in the forest, there's still the dream of a lifestyle which is more like the Bantus.

29.30

Elika Mawandja

Mother

Despite the fact there's food in the forest, the young people want to live near the villages.

29.35

Elodie Metimbo

Daughter

I want my son to be able to read and write. I want to stay in the village. The most important thing to me is that he can go to school.

29.50

Life is hard here and some of them can see the benefits of progress.  In the depths of the forest there are risks of contracting diseases which they cannot fight.  Sandflies lay their eggs under a toe nail and the hatching maggots eat the flesh.  the children can't walk properly and  In the forest there's no treatment for them.

30.18

Emile goes hunting every day. He' s carefully cleaned his bow and uses special leaves which he rubs onto it to mask the scent of humans.  Hunters also rub leaves over their bodies, to blend in with their natural surroundings.

30.37

Emile Mawandja

I always have to go looking for food. So, I don't have time to grow vegetables.  Now, because there's this protected zone for animals. How can we survive? We're not even allowed to hunt for beetles or mushrooms in the area. We've always been forest people, but now we're becoming beggars.

30.58

Emile is unhappy about the National Parks where hunting is banned.  He can now only hunt in special reserves which are supposed to protect the wildlife as well as allow the pygmies to maintain their traditional way of life.  But the Pygmies don't see it that way.

31.21

For the group hunt, using wooden pegs they fix several nets together in the shape of a semi-circle.  It's a task for the whole family and the women and children help with the trapping. Their kills are getting smaller and they can't survive from the forest alone.

31.33

The nets is made from vine fibres and are twisted together to make a material as strong as rope.

31.44

One last peg is inserted, the nets are secured in the ground and the tension is checked.  

They now have to scare the animals and drive them into the nets.

After several attempts, they strike lucky.

32.09

An adult gazelle is caught and will be carved up later. Metimbo stashes the animal in her carrying bag. During the hunt, the women are also looking for medicinal plants and plants to eat.

32.45

In the evening, they thank the forest spirits. It's not every day a Gazelle is caught. The children bang pots and drums, and the adults dance to the spirits.

33.10

Despite being a National Park, hunting still goes on, although illegally. This is a World Wildlife Fund patrol - they control the park and try to prevent poaching. But there are rich pickings here for poachers. 40 % of all the animal species in the world live in the rain forests and poaching can be a profitable business. They make use of Pygmies who are hired for a few cents as scouts or trackers. To reduce the poaching is a difficult task.

33.43

A camp is found. But the poachers are long gone.  They'd been on the lookout.

33.52

The 2,500 forest elephants who live here are a prime target. They're attracted by the terrain in this area of the forest. While the savannah elephant is relatively approachable, the forest elephants are extremely shy and make hunting more difficult.

34.15

The gamekeepers have confiscated about 300 pieces of wild meat - destined for sale. Usually it's the women who carry the illegal meat out of the forest to the market.

34.30

The discovery of hand-made weapons, slingshots and tusks is unfortunately a sign of the times.

34.36

Guy Rondeau

World Wildlife Fund

For our project we used to only hire Pygmies as daily workers. But now we want to train them better and integrate them into groups with the taller people. That way we can employ them full-time.

35.00

Andrea Turkalo has been working with Pygmies for eight years.  She's making a long term study of forest elephants. Her research is sponsored by US Wildlife - an American animal protection society.

35.15

Every day her Pygmy workers gather up elephant dung.  It's closely analysed because it gives important clues about the elephants' diet and overall health.  Andrea has a strict set up at the camp and her employees must work to her rules. No alcohol is allowed on site and the employees are changed every three to four weeks.  It's the only way she can be sure to have assistants.  She also gives them the respect they deserve.

35.46

Andrea Turkalo

Elephant Researcher

I like working with them. They've got a "joie de vivre". They're a very cheerful and gregarious people. They're reliable. All of my work here has been done with the Pygmies. They're proud of what we're doing and I tell them this as well. Without them I couldn't do my work.

36.04

Despite Andrea's feelings towards her employees, they still resent the fact that she's white and on their land.

36.16

Rajjmond Melebou

Research Assistant

We Pygmies were in the forest before the whites.Then there was always something to eat. The whites have spoilt everything. Because of the protected areas they've set up we can hardly find any animals anymore.

36.36

But the whites still feel they can help.  Some pygmies are grateful.  Here in this village a large number have adopted the Catholic faith and are attempting a new way of life. Unlike, other sections of the church, this mission is working with the pygmies and there appears to be a common aim.

36.57

Here they've left their traditional beehive shaped huts and are living in clay houses like the Bantu. The church's idea is to use agriculture to encourage the Pygmies to settle down.  They've introduced clean water, schools and health centres which immunise their children against diseases they didn't have anyway before the white settlers.

37.20

The Catholic Church is playing a difficult role.  While there's little prospect of the pygmies  continuing as nomadic people, showing them a new settled way of life, is also liable to bring its own problems as they lose touch with their heritage.

37.35

Priest Philippe Coibion has worked intimately with the pygmies for 25 years trying to understand their way of life.

37.50

Philippe Coibion

Priest

It's by not rather a question of luring the Pygmies out of the forest. That's their natural way of life. It's quite the opposite. We encourage them to continue their traditional way of life. But it's the Pygmies themselves who are looking for a better circumstances because the forest isn't enough for them anymore. Here, for their future, they want to build a village and cultivate their fields so they can support themselves that way.

38.30

But the outside world has altered the perspective of the pygmies forever. The church doesn't recognise their heritage and has created within them a desire to develop and reap the benefits of an increasingly western lifestyle.  This is not coveted by all pygmies who have found their hunting rights curtailed for the rich tourists and the logging companies who neither truly value their skills or traditions.

We have much to learn from these tiny people. Their knowledge, skills and attitude to life cannot be under-valued. They retain a deep connection with their natural environment and their ability to work within it is a skill many of us have lost.

RECUT 26.32 +

Reporter: Marion Mayer-Hohdahl

Camera: Terrance van Rooyen

VT Editor: Danny van Vuuren