Uganda Batwa Pygmy People and their Culture
In Uganda there are people who are referred to as
pygmys and they are called the Batwa, who
are of short stature and lived a hunter gather lifestyle until Bwindi rainforest
was gazetted as a National Park. They are the original dwellers of this ancient
jungle rain forest of Bwindi and have traditionally been known as the “The
Keepers of the Forest.” Their history is long and rich which shows that they
survived by hunting small game using arrows or nets and gathering plants and
fruit in the rain forest plus also living in huts constructed of leaves and
branches and moving frequently in search of fresh supplies of food. For
millennia the Batwa people lived in harmony with the forest and its creatures,
including the mountain gorillas.
History of the Batwa Tribe
The
general perception is that the Pygmies in general and the Batwa in particular
have lived in the Bwindi Impenetrable forest in Uganda and the rainforests of
the DRC for millennia approximately 600,000 years and that they are believed to
be barbaric, wild, uncivilized, untidy, ignorant, and above all else, sub-human
which seems to be at the foundation of their consistent exclusion and marginalization
from the mainstream of society.
These
perceptions ignore the fact that the Batwa communities within the Great Lakes
Region are a clear testimony of the continuing struggles by minority groups
around the world to defend their inherent right to life, security and
livelihoods for generations.
As
a result of this perception, the last half a century, international
conservation groups have “conspired” with national governments and
international financial institutions including the World Bank to forcibly evict
the Batwa communities from their ancestral dwellings without any form of
compensation.
The Cultural and social Status of the Batwa People
The
Batwa population in Uganda is about 6000, with the majority living in the
Southwestern districts of Kabale, Kisoro, Kanungu, Bundibugyo and Rukungiri.
And the size of the Batwa people is quite different from other tribes in
Uganda, the men and women rise to an average of four feet or less in height,
the tallest man among the Batwa would be the shortest among the neighboring Bakiga
community. The Batwa traditionally lived as hunters and gatherers, residing in
temporary huts and caves, deriving sustenance from forest resources like honey,
wild fruits, mushrooms and vegetables. Each clan collectively owned an area of
forest within which they derived food and herbal medicine.
The
Batwa reside in about 53 separate settlements falling within 41 villages. And on
average each settlement is composed of about 10 households. Of which the
households vary in sizes ranging from single to 17 member households. The Batwa
have strong social relations and recognize themselves as a community despite
living in different settlements. And they share close attachments to certain
areas within concomitant social formations that appear to derive directly from
the ancient past. The marriages normally take place within the clans though
marriage among members of an individual settlement is rare because of the close
relations amongst such persons. The Batwa people still practice social norms
and customs normally associated with clanship similar to majority of other
tribes in East and Central Africa.
Batwa
Pygmies are believed to be the original inhabitants of the equatorial forests
of the Great Lakes region of Central Africa. And it provided them a home plus
sustenance and medicines and also contained their sacred sites.
Traditional Economy of bambuti
Economically
the Batwa-Bambuti have generally a simple way of life since they are wanderers
by nature with no fixed place of abode. Their main means of subsistence is meat
and the forests where they live and abound with elephants, monkeys, lizards, antelopes
etc. The Bambuti people prey on these animals and several others which the
forest contains. And as one would expect, the Batwa-Bambuti have no home
industries, their mode of life is purely subsistence.
Tourist
Attractions Include;
- Batwa Trail
- Bwindi forest National Park
- Mountain Rwenzori
- Mghahinga National Park
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