Source: TW
Thread with excerpts from “Still a Pygmy: The unique memoir of one man’s fight to save his identity from extinction” by Isaac Bacirongo
Pygmy customs: dowry, polygyny, male choice of divorce, violent disputes over hunting rights, & resolution of murders with a bride giveaway to family of deceased. Seems Pygmies used gourds rather than pots for liquid storage. Alcohol is very popular with them.
Pygmies push their daughters to be promiscuous from a young age in hopes of snagging a man who would provide food for the family. Forest life was idealized since food that was hunted or gathered there could be kept for oneself. In a village, food had to shared with all. Pygmies (at least the author’s parents and their lovers) are quite promiscuous. Some lived a nomadic life in the forest, hunting and gathering.
Bantus such as the Shi had a one-drop rule for Pygmy identity, with even BaTembo who are mostly of Bantu ancestry being considered a separate species.
Author is a BaTembo Pygmy. The BaTembo descend from a Hunde Bantu man who married a Pygmy woman in 17th century. Many Bantus consider Pygmies to be subhuman. Pygmies had no recollection of political independence, & were ruled by Bantu chiefs until the 1940s. The highest level of their political organization under the Bantus were councils of elders who could resolve hunting disputes. Pygmies often pretended to be Bantus & could sometimes pass due to their mixed ancestry. However, their thin lips, fast blinking, & short heights often gave their true origins away. Bantus believed Pygmies could get closer in contact with the supernatural than Bantus could. Swahili had spread deep into the interior by mid-20th century, with Pygmies using it in songs.
Pygmies chose to not work for the Belgians when they built a road through the forest in the 1940s. Okapis used to live hundreds of km south of their current range.
Pygmies used dogs for hunting. While gorillas and chimpanzees could slay Pygmies, they weren’t aggressive so caused few problems. Leopards alone of beasts the Pygmies feared - they would tear open huts & eat Pygmies inside in addition to forest ambushes.