Most low people on the ground, whose average height does not exceed 141 cm, live in the Congo Basin in Central Africa. "The size of a fist" - so translated from the Greek pygmalios - the name of the pygmy tribe. There is an assumption that they once occupied the whole of Central Africa, but then were forced out into the region rainforest.

The daily life of these wild people devoid of romance and coupled with the daily struggle for survival, when main task men becomes food for the whole village. Pygmies are considered the most non-bloodthirsty hunters. And indeed it is. They never hunt for the sake of hunting, they never kill animals for the desire to kill, they never store meat for future use. They do not even bring a killed animal to the village, but butcher, cook and eat right on the spot, calling all the villagers to a meal. Hunting and everything connected with it - main ritual in the life of the tribe, clearly expressed in folklore: songs about hunting heroes, dances that convey scenes of animal behavior, myths and legends. Before the hunt, men smear themselves and weapons with mud with the dung of the animal they are going to hunt, turn to the spear with a request to be accurate, and set off.

Everyday food of the pygmies is vegetable: nuts, edible herbs and roots, the core of the palm tree. Fishing is a seasonal activity. For fishing, pygmies use a special grass, from which the fish fall asleep, but do not die. Grass leaves are dissolved in the river, the catch is collected downstream. A particular danger for the pygmies is the jungle, full of a variety of wild animals. But the most dangerous is the python. If a pygmy accidentally steps on a python more than 4 meters, he is doomed. The snake instantly attacks, wraps around the body and strangles.

The origin of the pygmies is still not entirely clear. It is only known that the first Europeans quite recently penetrated into their world and were met rather belligerently. The exact number of representatives of the tribe is not known. According to various sources, there are about 280 thousand of them. The average life expectancy is no more than 45 years for men, women live a little longer. The first child is born at the age of 14-15, but there are no more than two children in the family. Pygmies roam in groups of 2-4 families. They live in low huts covered with grass, which can be done in a few hours. Boys 9-16 years old are circumcised and subjected to other rather cruel trials, accompanied by moral instructions. Only men take part in such ceremonies.

The tribe has lost its native language, so the dialects of neighboring tribes are most often used. Clothing consists of only a hip belt with an apron. But settled pygmies are increasingly wearing European clothes. The main deity is the forest spirit Tore, the owner of forest game, to whom hunters pray before hunting.

The culture and traditions of the pygmies are gradually disappearing. New life slowly penetrates into their life, dissolving in itself the lifestyle of the smallest people on the planet.

Watch interesting videos.

Unknown planet. Pygmies and Karamojongs. ch1.

Ritual dances of Baka pygmies.

Dwarfism and gigantism are the opposites of the human world, attracting attention. In addition to 190 cm giants, the smallest people in the world live in Africa. And this is not just a failure in genetics - there is a whole set of factors that everyone will be interested in learning about.

The smallest people in Africa are called pygmies or negrilli. Translated from Greek, "people the size of a fist." Their height ranges from 124 to 150 cm (and height below 147 cm is considered dwarfism).

Pygmies are well adapted to life in tropical rainforests - it is easy for them to move around in impenetrable wilds, organisms cool better in hot climates and require much fewer calories to feed.

On the mainland, there is a fairly large community of pygmies (about 280 thousand people), common in equatorial forests Central Africa on the territory of 5 states. They are conditionally divided into western and eastern.

Pygmies can be found on all continents: the Philippines, Brazil, Australia, Bolivia, Indonesia, the Fiji and Aydaman Islands. In addition to tropical forests, the smallest people in the world live in other places (for example, African pygmies tva - in the desert).

Pygmies in history

The first mentions of pygmies are found among the ancient Greeks (3rd millennium BC) and Egyptians (2nd millennium BC). And officially the world got acquainted with the pygmies after independent travels in Africa by the German G. Schweinfurt and the Russian V. Juncker in the 1870s.

In the 60s of the twentieth century, the Belgian researcher J.P. Alle lived for several months in one of the pygmy communities, efe. He filmed about the natives 2 documentaries and founded charitable foundation. This organization is currently providing real help this people in the Congo, providing them with land for agriculture.

Genetics, anthropology of the pygmies

Many researchers distinguish pygmies as a special race. Men one and a half meters tall are considered giants, and the average height of women is around 133 cm. African pygmies have light brown skin, a small head with a wide forehead and nose, black and curly hair, and thin lips.

It is interesting that outwardly the Negritos, who inhabit the south and southeast of Asia, as well as the islands of Melanesia and the north of Australia, are closest to the pygmies. But the genetic differences are quite large.

Pygmies still have the Neanderthal gene (up to 0.7%). These human ancestors lived from 600 to 350 thousand years ago, and modern man this gene has mutated and is virtually non-existent.

Origin hypotheses


Reasons for small growth

  • Hormones

Surprisingly, the growth hormone in pygmies is secreted by the pituitary gland in the same way as in ordinary people. But there is no growth acceleration in Africans, since the secretion of hormones during puberty is not at the proper level.

Already in childhood, strong differences are visible between the same Europeans and pygmies. A five-year-old pygmy is the same height as a 2-year-old European. And in adolescence (12-15 years), pygmies simply stop growing.

  • Malnutrition

Pygmies are not only small, but also extremely slender. Their food largely depends on luck. For example, the Pygmy tribe in the Philippines is considered the thinnest of all human populations. Infant mortality in this tribe is half of the entire birth rate.

Therefore, in order to survive, the size of the pygmies decreased from generation to generation.

  • Living near the equator

The tropics are hot and humid climate. Under such conditions (if forests are added here), the body will definitely overheat. Usually people sweat and thus can avoid heat stroke.

But with high humidity, sweating hard just won’t work. Pygmies managed to reduce muscle mass and thus improve thermoregulation.

  • Sun deficiency

Dense rainforests prevent sufficient penetration sunlight(and the formation of vitamin D in the body). Therefore, the skeleton of the pygmies is smaller - calcium is not assimilated enough and bone growth is inhibited.

  • Lifestyle

One of the main activities of the aborigines in Africa is the collection of honey. Pygmies have been doing this for several millennia, so they have evolved into small and agile people weighing up to 45 kg, able to vertically climb branches that can withstand their weight. Among the Pygmies of the Batwa tribe, even the feet can bend at an angle of 45 degrees, although in ordinary people - only up to 18.

Pygmies even managed to enter into a kind of symbiosis with bees. Bees almost do not bite people, and the latter practically do not react to minor bites. But as soon as a white man appears next to him and sweats a little, he will not be spared.

  • small age

Unfortunately, the smallest people in the world live very little. Their average duration life is only 24 years, and 40-year-olds are already considered aksakals. Pygmies survive only due to the frequent change of generations.

Puberty occurs in them very early, simultaneously with inhibition of growth. Males start breeding at the age of 12, and females peak at 15.

Pygmies in the modern world

Modern African pygmies live in the forests, obtaining everything they need through hunting and gathering. Animals are killed with bows and arrows.

At the same time, until recently, they did not know how to make fire (they carried it when changing the parking lot) and did not make tools (they exchange them with neighboring tribes).

A large segment of nutrition (up to 30%) is occupied by the gathering of fruits and honey. And the rest of the food and things (metal, tobacco, clothes, utensils) are exchanged by pygmies from nearby farmers for honey and other forest provisions.

Pygmies constantly roam. This is due to the custom - when a member of the tribe dies, he is left in the hut where he lived. At the same time, the entire community moves to a new place.

Pygmies are very well versed in medicinal plants. Therefore, no one can prepare a medicinal or poisonous mixture better than them. Even the bulk of the pygmy vocabulary consists of such words.

Pygmies catch fish in an interesting way. They make poison, thanks to which all the fish in the pond will float up belly up. But after a while, the poison loses its strength and the fish can be eaten.

Slavery and cannibalism

It turns out that slavery still exists in the Republic of the Congo. The neighboring tribe, the Bantu, has pygmy slaves in their families and passes them on by inheritance.

Pygmies obtain food for their masters in the forest in exchange for goods necessary for survival. In fairness, it should be noted that slaves may well be in the service of several farmers.

And in the province of North Kivu, there is still a belief that by eating the flesh of a pygmy, you can get magical powers.

Video

Pygmies (Greek Πυγμαῖοι - "people the size of a fist") - a group of undersized Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa.

Testimonies and references

Mentioned already in ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC. e., at a later time - in ancient Greek sources (in the "Iliad" of Homer, in Herodotus and Strabo).

In the XVI-XVII centuries. they are called "matimba" are mentioned in the descriptions left by the explorers of West Africa.

In the 19th century, their existence was confirmed by the German explorer Georg August Schweinfurt, the Russian explorer V.V. Junker and others, who discovered these tribes in the tropical forests of the Ituri and Uzle river basins (various tribes under the names: Akka, Tikitiki, Obongo, Bambuti, Batva) .

In 1929-1930. P. Shebesta's expedition described the Bambuti Pygmies; in 1934–1935 the researcher M. Guzinde found the Efe and Basua Pygmies.

At the end of the 20th century, they live in the forests of Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Congo, and Rwanda.

The most ancient mention of the pygmies is contained in the story of the Egyptian Hirkhuf, a nobleman of the era ancient kingdom, who boasted that he managed to bring a dwarf from his campaign for the amusement of the young king. This inscription dates back to the 3rd millennium BC. e. In an Egyptian inscription, the dwarf brought by Hirkhuf is called dng. This name has survived to this day in the languages ​​​​of the peoples of Ethiopia: in Amharic, a dwarf is called deng, or dat. Ancient Greek writers tell all sorts of stories about African pygmies, but all their reports are fantastic.

Pygmies lead a hunting lifestyle. In the economy of the Pygmies, gathering, apparently, occupies the first place and mainly determines the nutrition of the entire group. Most of the work falls to the share of women, since the extraction of plant food is the business of women. Every day, the women of the entire cohabiting group, accompanied by children, collect wild-growing roots, leaves of edible plants and fruits around their camp, catch worms, snails, frogs, snakes and fish.

Pygmies are forced to leave the camp as soon as all suitable plants are eaten in the vicinity of the camp and the game is destroyed. The whole group moves to another area of ​​the forest, but wanders within the established boundaries. These boundaries are known to all and are strictly observed. Hunting on foreign lands is not allowed and may lead to hostile clashes. Almost all groups of pygmies live in close contact with a tall population, most often with the Bantu. Typically, the pygmies bring game and forest products to the villages in exchange for bananas, vegetables, and iron spearheads. All groups of pygmies speak the languages ​​of their tall neighbors.


House of pygmies made of leaves and sticks

The primitive nature of the culture of the pygmies sharply distinguishes them from the surrounding peoples of the Negroid race. What are pygmies? Is it an autochthonous population of Central Africa? Do they constitute a special anthropological type, or is their origin the result of degradation of the tall type? These are the main questions that made up the essence of the pygmy problem, one of the most controversial in anthropology and ethnography. Soviet anthropologists believe that the Pygmies are natives of tropical Africa of a special anthropological type, of independent origin.

Height from 144 to 150 cm for adult men, light brown skin, dark curly hair, relatively thin lips, large torso, short arms and legs, this physical type can be classified as a special race. The possible number of pygmies can range from 40 to 280 thousand people.

In external type, the negritos of Asia are close to them, but genetically there are strong differences between them.

- (Pygmaei, Πυγμαι̃οι). The mythical people of dwarfs, the size of πηγμή, τ. e. growth is not more than the distance from the elbow to the fist. According to Homer, they lived on the shores of the Ocean; subsequently, their residence began to be considered the sources of the Nile, as well as India. Current… … Encyclopedia of mythology

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

- (inosk.) 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. “You see, there he is!” Cf. He loved his poor Fatherland among his wanderings. She was wrapped in mules, Her pygmies ... ... Michelson's Big Explanatory Phraseological Dictionary (original spelling)

Modern Encyclopedia

From Ancient Greek: Pigmaios. Literally: The size of a fist. V ancient Greek mythology Pygmies were called the fabulous people of the dwarfs, who were so small that they often became victims of cranes, like frogs. Therefore, dwarfs had to ... ... Dictionary of winged words and expressions

The people of dwarfs, who lived, according to the legendary legends of the Greeks, on the shores of the ocean (Homer) and at the source of the Nile (late writer), where he fought constantly with cranes. Dictionary of 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 are a fabulous people of dwarfs living in Libya. Iliad (III, 6) tells of their battles with cranes (cf. L. v. Sybel, Mythologie derIlias, 1877, and L. F. Voevodsky, Introduction to mythology ... ... Encyclopedia of Brockhaus and Efron

pygmies- PYGMIES, a group of peoples: Twa, Binga, Bibaya, Ghielli, Efe, Kango, Aka, Mbuti with a total number of 350 thousand people belonging to the Negrillian race, the 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. The total number is 390 thousand people (1995). They speak Bantu languages. Many pygmies maintain a wandering lifestyle, an 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 barbarian world. The name is associated with the small growth of the pygmies and symbolizes a distorted perception of the true ethnic group. The Greeks defined... 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 accomplishments of the Leader, the current masters of the Kremlin look like real dwarfs. And the pygmies will always envy the political...
  • Kremlin pygmies against the titan Stalin, or Russia to be found, Sergey Kremlev. Although Putin and Medvedev are the same height as Stalin, in comparison with the titanic accomplishments of the Leader, the current masters of the Kremlin look like real dwarfs. And the pygmies will always envy the political...

And etc.; formerly presumably Pygmy languages

Religion

traditional beliefs

Racial type

Negril type large black race


Pygmies(gr. Πυγμαῖοι - "people the size of a fist") - a group of undersized Negroid peoples living in the equatorial forests of Africa. Another name for African pygmies is negrilli.

Evidence

Mentioned already in ancient Egyptian inscriptions of the 3rd millennium BC. e., at a later time - in ancient Greek sources (in the "Iliad" of Homer, in Herodotus and Strabo).

Pygmies in mythology

Physical type

The Efe and Sua peoples living to the east of the tank initially give birth to small children - the growth limiter is turned on during fetal development. Bak children are born normal, but in the first two years of life, Bak children grow noticeably slower than Europeans.

Occupation

Pygmies are inhabitants of the forests, the forest for them is the source of everything necessary for life. The main occupations are hunting and gathering. Pygmies do not make stone tools, they did not know how to make fire before (they carried the source of fire with them). The hunting weapon is a bow with arrows with metal tips, and these tips are often poisoned. Iron barter from neighbors.

Language

Pygmies usually speak the languages ​​​​of the peoples around them - efe, asua, bambuti, etc. There are some phonetic differences in the dialects of the pygmies, but with the exception of the Baka people, the pygmies have lost their native languages.

Write a review on the article "Pygmies"

Notes

Literature

  • Putnam E. Eight Years Among the Pygmies / Ann Putnam; With preface and ed. B. I. Sharevskaya; Artist B. A. Diodorov. - M .: Publishing house of Eastern literature, 1961. - 184 p. - (Journey through the countries of the East). - 75,000 copies.(reg.)

Links

  • Culture, music and photography

An excerpt characterizing the Pygmies

“Dr… or fool!…” he said.
“And that one isn’t! they’ve been gossiping about her too,” he thought about the little princess, who was not in the dining room.
- Where is the princess? - he asked. - Hiding?...
“She is not quite well,” said m lle Bourienne, smiling cheerfully, “she will not come out. It's so understandable in her position.
- Hm! um! uh! uh! - said the prince and sat down at the table.
The plate seemed to him not clean; he pointed to the stain and dropped it. Tikhon picked it up and handed it to the barman. The little princess was not unwell; but she was so irresistibly afraid of the prince that, hearing how he was in a bad mood, she decided not to go out.
“I am afraid for the child,” she said to m lle Bourienne, “God knows what can be done from fright.
In general, the little princess lived in the Bald Mountains constantly under a feeling of fear and antipathy towards the old prince, which she was not aware of, because fear prevailed so much that she could not feel it. There was also antipathy on the part of the prince, but it was drowned out by contempt. The princess, having settled down in the Bald Mountains, especially fell in love with m lle Bourienne, spent days with her, asked her to spend the night with her, and often spoke with her about her father-in-law and judged him.
- Il nous arrive du monde, mon prince, [Guests are coming to us, prince.] - said m lle Bourienne, unrolling a white napkin with her pink hands. - Son excellence le prince Kouraguine avec son fils, a ce que j "ai entendu dire? [His Excellency Prince Kuragin with his son, how much have I heard?] - she said inquiringly.
“Hm… this excellence boy… I appointed him to the collegium,” the prince said indignantly. - And why the son, I can not understand. Princess Lizaveta Karlovna and Princess Marya may know; I don't know why he's bringing this son here. I don't need. And he looked at the blushing daughter.
- Unhealthy, right? From the fear of the minister, as this blockhead Alpatych said today.
- No, mon pere. [father.]
No matter how unsuccessfully m lle Bourienne got on the subject of conversation, she did not stop and chatted about greenhouses, about the beauty of a new blossoming flower, and the prince softened after the soup.
After dinner he went to his daughter-in-law. The little princess sat at a small table and chatted with Masha, the maid. She turned pale when she saw her father-in-law.
The little princess has changed a lot. She was more bad than good, now. The cheeks drooped, the lip rose up, the eyes were drawn down.
“Yes, some kind of heaviness,” she answered the prince’s question about what she felt.
- Do you need something?
- No, merci, mon pere. [thank you, father.]
- Well, well, well.
He left and went to the waiter's room. Alpatych, bowing his head, stood in the waiter's room.
- Abandoned road?
- Zakidana, Your Excellency; sorry, for God's sake, for one stupidity.
The prince interrupted him and laughed his unnatural laugh.
- Well, well, well.
He extended his hand, which Alpatych kissed, and went into the office.
In the evening Prince Vasily arrived. He was met on the preshpekt (as the avenue was called) by coachmen and waiters, with a shout they drove his wagons and sledges to the wing along a road deliberately covered with snow.
Prince Vasily and Anatole were given separate rooms.
Anatole was sitting, taking off his camisole and propping himself on his hips, in front of the table, on the corner of which he, smiling, intently and absently directed his beautiful big eyes. He looked at his whole life as an uninterrupted entertainment, which someone for some reason undertook to arrange for him. So now he looked at his trip to the evil old man and to the rich ugly heiress. All this could come out, according to his assumption, very well and funny. And why not marry, if she is very rich? It never interferes, thought Anatole.
He shaved, perfumed himself with the thoroughness and panache that had become his habit, and with a good-natured victorious expression innate in him, carrying his beautiful head high, he entered the room to his father. Near Prince Vasily, his two valets bustled about, dressing him; he himself looked around him animatedly and nodded merrily to his son as he entered, as if he were saying: “So, that’s how I need you!”
- No, no jokes, father, is she very ugly? A? he asked, as if continuing a conversation that had been carried on more than once during the journey.
- Full. Nonsense! The main thing is to try to be respectful and prudent with the old prince.
“If he scolds, I will leave,” said Anatole. I can't stand these old people. A?
“Remember that everything depends on you.
At that time, the arrival of the minister with his son was not only known in the maid's room, but appearance both of them have already been described in detail. Princess Marya sat alone in her room and tried in vain to overcome her inner agitation.
“Why did they write, why did Lisa tell me about it? After all, this cannot be! she said to herself, looking in the mirror. - How do I get into the living room? Even if I liked him, I could not be myself with him now. Just the thought of her father's gaze horrified her.
The little princess and m lle Bourienne have already received all the necessary information from the maid Masha about what a ruddy, black-browed handsome minister's son was, and about how papa dragged their feet by force to the stairs, and he, like an eagle, walking up three steps, ran after him. Having received this information, the little princess with m lle Bourienne, still audible from the corridor with their animated voices, entered the princess's room.