Five Nights with the Pygmies of Cameroon

At the request of Cameroonian Minister of Agriculture Koddock, Israel's Ambassador to Yaounde, Dr. Moshe Liba, and Mr. Roger Mila, a world-class Cameroonian football player with a special interest in helping his countrymen, I made a preliminary visit to the Pygmies in 1995. The objective of the Cameroon Government was to settle the Pygmies, a tribe famous for its small size and its life-style in the forest, a life-style which has remained unchanged over thousands of years. The Pygmies are said to have come from Ethiopia, and perhaps to have been Africa's first inhabitants. They live in the Congo, in the Central African Republic, in Cameroon, in Zaire (today the Democratic Republic of the Congo) where I employed some of them for two years as watchmen in the fields (when I served on a long-term mission 1982-84 as agricultural advisor on the late President Mobutu's farm, sent by Agridev, Israel's commercial government-owned agricultural development company). These countries are all more or less neighbours. In Rwanda, the Batwas are also related to the Pygmies, although somewhat larger.

In 1995, Dr. Liba, his economic adviser Ms. Nicole Gad and I made a trip to the Congolese border in southwest Cameroon. We travelled for 12 hours in a four-wheel drive vehicle over rather uncomfortable and deserted tracks, through bush and forest. Reaching the village after nightfall, we were welcomed by the population of two tribes: the first the Bakas (Pygmies), and the second the Bantus (a sedentary/settled farming tribe). We spent the entire night, after our somewhat trying journey, in the middle of the forest, bitten by insects, sitting by the firelight watching dancing and listening to singing, accompanied by tom-tom drums, performed in our honour. It was not until three in the morning that we were finally able to rest. It is worth noting that this was, as far as I am aware, the first time that an ambassador has visited the Pygmies and been accommodated, not in a four-star hotel, but under the thousands of stars twinkling through the gaps in the ceiling of our communal hut.

The Pygmies in Cameroon, as well as in the countries surrounding it, occupy a fringe position in society, providing a source of cheap labour. They constitute part of the folklore heritage with their songs, dances and tom-toms; in some countries, when conditions allow, they attract tourists. Cameroon's governmental authorities have decided to include them in the country's economic process because they are Cameroon citizens in full measure. The government representatives were present at the events put on by the population. After the football match - won by the Pygmies - T-shirts printed with the Israeli and Cameroon flags were distributed and numerous speeches were given, translated into the Pygmies' language. We visited the land which the government has granted to the Pygmies - the forest, with its giant trees and impenetrable vegetation. A work program was planned, and a date fixed for our next visit, in 1996.

In 1996, Shlomo Gilboa, my fellow Israeli agricultural expert, accompanied me on an on-the-spot course to Cameroon. In the northwest of the country, we worked with 40 agronomists, extension workers, sector heads, visiting and giving courses to hundreds of farmers specializing in the growing of industrial tomatoes and other agronomic subjects. We then went back in time by returning to the Pygmies, spending five unforgettable nights living in the forest with them and the Bantus, being attentively looked after by the local government representatives, since we were the guests of the Ministry of Agriculture.

This expedition was observed every day by an administrator from the NGO which looks after the interests of the Pygmies, headed by Roger Mila. The forest had been cleaned and cleared, and thousands of Pygmies and Bantus - men, women and children - were waiting for us, once again with their same ritual of African hospitality. When all the Pygmies and Bantus had gathered in the demonstration site, with the help of the local village extension worker and the interpreter, we explained how to choose healthy plants or shoots, with no viral infections. We prepared beds in the fields, using stakes, string and plowing implements. For each crop sowing densities were standardized using a measure such as a foot or hand. The Pygmies who work for the Bantus had no problem motivating and explaining to their colleagues the different phases of work. The Ministry of Agriculture representative carried out the preparations for banana shoots in front of the large crowd and we worked from morning to night.

Then the Pygmies themselves prepared their plots and beds using stakes, string, rakes and hoes, first the men and then the women. Having received explanations, these future farmers were able to chose vegetable plants and shoots without any viral infections. The topic of crop densities was of particular interest since proper use of the land means less unnecessary manual labour which is always physically strenuous. We proposed planting plantain with inter-row vegetable crops.

By the light of the wood fire or petrol lamps we discussed at length the tribe's customs and the human relations between the Bakas and Bantus. We left written instructions and technical sheets for the extension workers. We planned an agricultural calendar, taking into account the rainy season, the hunting season, harvest time and the "caterpillar period" when all the inhabitants leave their huts and head into the forest to hunt and eat elephants for fairly long periods. At least two visits a year for two or three years would be needed in order to teach this population enough agriculture to put an end to their dependence for food supplies on outside sources or farm work for the Bantus. For the Pygmies, who traditionally use spear and bow and arrow, to farm a plot of land which as a result of their own efforts can supply the tribe's daily food needs would really be something important.

Pygmies live in the midst of the forest, in nature's bosom. They hunt animals, and harvest insects and fruits. Herbal remedies are extracted from grasses, roots and barks and are used by the witch doctor in his ministrations. Their dwellings are made of branches and leaves. A fire constantly burns inside to keep insects and mosquitoes away. Whenever their encampment becomes unhealthy with buildup of debris, they migrate to another site. Gradually, as roads are built into the forest in order to exploit its resources for economic reasons, the Pygmies have begun building their encampments on either side of the track, clustering around villages for reasons of health, or because of social or economic exchanges. Since they are settling down, it is necessary to provide them with assistance, to impart to them the agricultural topics needed to produce local foodstuffs, and to ensure an independent existence for them. It is imperative that the 15,000 Pygmies living in the region should be capable of providing for themselves, without expecting charity in the form of salt, cigarettes or alcohol from the natives and tourists, while allowing them to choose if they wish to become involved in private agricultural work either with the Bantus or with other tribes.

Considerable sums are available to international organizations for safeguarding endangered species of animals, plants and sites. To the best of my knowledge, no bodies are paying serious attention to this ethnic group or making available to its members any means for improving their daily lives. There is a difference between having the good sense not to change ancestral customs, not disturbing life styles, and on the other hand the daily sight of women and children spending hours every evening carrying on their heads containers of drinking water for the family's needs. What is picturesque about seeing children and adults wandering around dressed in rags or naked, or nearly so? Must they shiver with cold during chilly nights in their leaf huts? Are they happy always to be the object of curiosity for people who are outsiders to the region?

Having for many years worked side by side with international bodies as representative of Israeli cooperation in the Central African Republic (where I served as MASHAV's agricultural advisor from 1990-94), my colleagues from various nations, technical advisers and myself have always encountered difficulties in convincing sponsors to divide up subsidies more equitably. This project which Israel began in Cameroon, in my opinion unique in the field of international cooperation, has had, as yet, no follow-up. The humanitarian effort with the Pygmies in the field of agricultural development would surely be worthwhile, so that the words spoken by people who came from Jerusalem will not vanish from their forest like the mist.