Aka fieldsite in the Congo Basin

Location

The Aka live in the northwestern region of the Congo Basin, in the tropical forests of southwestern Central African Republic (CAR) and northern Congo-Brazzaville. The region is approximately 100,000 km², stretching from the equator to 3 degrees north latitude. The dense, humid forest in this region is heterogeneous in composition. It is dominated by solid ground semideciduous forest, but is spotted with solid ground evergreen forests, swamp or marsh forests in the riverine valleys, and open savannah.

Secondary forest also exists in regions recently abandoned by slash and burn agriculturalists. The distribution of game varies across these various forest types and Aka hunt a number of species in each environment.

The northern part of the region has a tropical climate with two seasons, and the southern part a subequatorial climate with four seasons. Average rainfall throughout is approximately 1700mm (1407-2381mm), and the mean annual temperature is 24.5 degrees centigrade.

Population

The Aka are estimated to number between 30,000-40,000 people living throughout their territories. The local population in any one area varies continuously as individuals come and go, visiting relatives in other areas for lengths of time.

Language

Ethnolinguistic studies show the Aka to have shared a common linguistic history with the neighbouring Baka of eastern Cameroon. Some of the vocabulary of this original language exists in the daily speech of both groups, but the Aka have since adopted the language of the Bantu farmers who moved into the region several centuries ago.

The Aka language (diaka) is of the Bantu C10 family and is today distinct but mutually intelligible with the dialects of neighboring farmers. Sign language, paralanguage, song, and forest-sound imitation are also crucial aspects of Aka linguistic identity.

Group identity/ethnicity

Aka identify as a 'people of the forest', in opposition to the neighbouring 'people of the village'. To outsiders, Aka are famous for their skill in elephant hunting, honey collecting, and magic. Local group identity is defined by kinship and relation through marriage, and, depending on the region, identification with particular farmer families and clans of farmers.

For example, Aka in the Lobaye region of CAR have a traditional 'patron-client' relationship with specific farmer families, consisting of exclusive exchange relations. This type of relationship is common throughout the Congo Basin. In this case, each farmer family has territorial rights to one of several trails that lead south from the village of Bangandu, which are used to access forest resources.

These are clan trails and the Aka families associated with villagers of each clan are, at least by the villagers, identified as members of that clan. It depends on the particular Aka family how strongly they identify with their 'patrons', but each family enjoys substantial autonomy in this relationship, due to the Aka forest specialisation and the villagers' general fear of the forest environment.

Political and social organisation

Aka society is acephalous and highly egalitarian. In general, the nuclear family is the primary economic unit, consisting of a wife-husband pair and their children. A camp consists of a community of as many as 15 nuclear families, though usually only 20-35 people.

There are also regional bands, though the Aka do not have a term to describe these units. They consist of 50-150 individuals who share hunting and gathering territory. Each band may consist of a core of 2 to 4 'clans', though the clan level of identification is of more importance in relations between Aka and villagers than it is between groups of Aka.

There are three 'specialists' within Aka society, who have important ritual duties but no special power outside of their domains. The kombeti or mbai 'elder' is usually an older male within each camp whose knowledge and opinions are especially valued. This individual is concerned with the moral standards of the group and may speak to the forest as a representative of the camp to call for peace and fruitful hunting and gathering.

The tuma is a master elephant hunter and recognised as important in spiritual success in the hunt. Finally, the nganga diviner-healer is an important figure in Aka society. The nganga has special knowledge of medicinal plants and how to communicate with the spirits. These individuals may become so widely known and their powers heralded that heads of state will travel from the capital in Bangui to seek their divination or healing abilities.

Thus, the nganga can be a substantial source of income for Aka communities. There is one famous nganga in the Lobaye region whose family essentially runs a roadside clinic, which seems to have a fairly regular patient load.

Economic practices and daily life

Most economic practices are collaborative affairs, and daily life consists of attending to subsistence and maintenance work, often leisurely and sociably. On average, one-third of the Aka diet comes from gathered forest foods, and the other two-thirds from hunted game, usually mammals.

Aka knowledge of forest plants and animals is extensive. They primarily subsist on 63 species of plant, 20 insect species, and the honey from 8 species of bees, as well as meat from 28 species of game. Hunting technology is specialised for specific game, and what technique is used on any day will depend on the number of men available in camp and the time of the year.

Gathering activities also vary by season, though many fruits, nuts, fungi, and the leaves of Gnetum africanum are gathered opportunistically, as are forest snails and tortoises. From about August through September (the height of the rainy season), moth caterpillars fall from the taller canopy trees to search for suitable ground in which to bury themselves to form chrysalides.

At this time, the Aka camp near to areas known for their quantities of caterpillars and all members of camp will spend the day gathering them. This resource is of great importance to the villagers throughout the Congo Basin as well, and the Aka trade large quantities to villagers who will dry them and sell them at markets throughout CAR. Dried, caterpillars can last for several months.

All food acquired by any camp member is shared with all other individuals in camp, even visitors, unless there is a particularly small portion, and then it will be shared within the nuclear family. Sharing is often formalised between families in camp. This is especially true of meat, which has specific distribution norms.

Religion

Aka religious beliefs are individualistic in nature. In general, there are two types of 'ancestor spirits'. One type is more personalised and may have a name or belong to a particular family, and the other is nameless and generalised. Depending on the strength of one's attributions, these ancestor spirits may mediate between the living and the great Forest Spirit, Dzengi, who is responsible for the productivity of the forest. There is also consensus that a creator spirit exists, Bembe, who is no longer active.

Ceremonial dances are held frequently to ensure the productivity of the hunt, but also on the occasion of a death. To deal with private matters, more intimate rites may be performed, perhaps with the assistance of an nganga.

The Aka have adopted villager beliefs about witchcraft and sorcery to various extents. Witches operate in secrecy and send poison darts into their victims. An nganga is the only one who can diagnose and cure the attack of a witch.

The Aka concept of ekila, is a dynamic, individualised set of taboos that serves a function of spiritual and moral guidance. It is based on the multifaceted connections between one's own growth and one's relations to people, animals, and the forest itself through sharing and the hunt. Ekila beliefs stem from the association of menstruation with hunting success, the smell of menstrual blood having the effect of alerting game to one's presence. It is extended, however, to a wider set of personalised prohibitions and proscriptions.

A girl is called ekila when she begins to menstruate and now must adopt certain food taboos to protect her reproductive vitality, but also a hunter learns to take care of his ekila by always sharing and avoiding the jealousy of others. Children learn of their family's ekila practices and beliefs when they reach the age of production (boys, when they join adult men's hunts) or reproduction (girls, when they reach menarche).

Healthcare

Traditional medicine is most commonly used to treat ailments. An nganga (medicinal specialist) is consulted if common knowledge medicine doesn't work.

There is a clinic in Bangandu, but the Aka choose not to take advantage of its services for fear of discrimination.

Readings

Serge Bahuchet (1990). Food sharing among the Pygmies of Central Africa. African Study Monographs, 11.1, 27-53.

Serge Bahuchet and Henri Guillaume (1982) Aka-farmer relations in the Northwest Congo Basin. In E. Leacock and R. B. Lee (Eds.), Politics and History in Band Societies (pp. 189-211). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Adam Boyette (in review). Middle Childhood among Aka Forest Foragers of the Central African Republic: A Comparative Perspective.

Adam Boyette (in prep). Culture in Transmission: A Quantitative Account of Daily Learning Among Aka Forest Forager Children from Middle to Late Childhood.

Barry Hewlett (1991). Intimate fathers: the nature and context of Aka Pygmy paternal infant care. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

Barry Hewlett and Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (1986). Cultural transmission among Aka Pygmies. American Anthropologist, 88(4), 922-934.

Bonnie Hewlett and Barry Hewlett (2008). A biocultural approach to sex, love, and intimacy in Central African foragers and farmers. In W. R. Jaukowiak (Ed.), Intimacies: love and sex across cultures (pp. 39-64). NY: Columbia University Press.

Koichi Kitanishi (1995). Seasonal changes in the subsistence activities and food intake of the Aka hunter-gatherers in northeastern Congo. African Study Monographs, 16(2), 73-118.

Koichi Kitanishi (1998). Food sharing among the Aka hunter-gatherers in northeastern Congo. African Study Monographs, Supplementary 25(3-32).

Jerome Lewis (2002). Forest hunter-gatherers and their world: a study of the Mbenjele Yaka Pygmies of Congo-Brazzaville and their secular and religious activities and representations. London School of Economics and Political Science, London.

Jerome Lewis (2008). Ekila: blood, bodies, and egalitarian societies. Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 14, 297-315.

Louis Sarno (1993). Song from the forest: My life among the Ba-Benjellé Pygmies. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin.

Kiyoshi Takeuchi (1995). Subsistence Hunting in African Tropical Forest: Hunting Techniques and Activities among the Aka Hunter-Gatherers, Northeastern Congo. Zooarchaeology, 4, 27-52.

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