The Aka or Biaka (also Bayaka, Babenzele) are a nomadic Mbenga pygmy people. They live in south-western Central African Republic and in northern Republic of the Congo. They are related to the Baka people of Cameroon, Gabon, northern Congo, and southwestern Central African Republic.

Unlike the Mbuti pygmies of the eastern Congo (who speak only the language of the tribes with whom they are affiliated), the Aka speak their own language along with whichever of the approximately 15 Bantu peoples they are affiliated.

In 2003, the oral traditions of the Aka were proclaimed one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO. They were featured in the July 1995 National Geographic article "Ndoki: the Last Place on Earth", and a 3-part TV series.<!-- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10590570/ -->

Society

thumb|290px|A family from a Ba Aka [[pygmy village in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2006.]]

A traditional hunter-gatherer society, the Aka have a varied diet that includes 63 plants, 28 species of game and 20 species of insect, in addition to nuts, fruit, honey, mushrooms and roots. Some Aka have recently taken up the practice of planting their own small seasonal crops, but agricultural produce is more commonly obtained by trading with neighboring villages, whom the Aka collectively term as Ngandu.

From the Ngandu, they obtain manioc, plantain, yams, taro, maize, cucumbers, squash, okra, papaya, mango, pineapple, palm oil, and rice in exchange for the bushmeat, honey, and other forest products the Aka collect. There are over 15 different village tribes with whom the approximately 30,000 Aka associate.

As a result of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, which frequently exposes them to the blood of jungle fauna, they have among the highest rates of seropositivity for Ebola virus in the world.

Sex roles

In the Aka community, despite a sexual division of labor where women primarily serve as caregivers, male and female roles are highly flexible and interchangeable. Women hunt while men care for children, and vice versa, without stigma or loss of status. Women are not only as likely as men to hunt but can even be more proficient hunters. Aka women have been observed hunting even during late stages of pregnancy and returning to hunting shortly after childbirth, sometimes even carrying newborns while hunting.

While tasks and decision-making were largely shared activities, leadership roles such as kombeti (leader), tuma (elephant hunter), and nganga (top healer) are consistently held by men in a community studied by anthropologist Barry Hewlett.

Conservation efforts

The World Wildlife Fund of Washington, DC, has worked with the Aka since the 1980s to protect gorilla habitats, minimize logging of forest, and promote other conservation efforts while empowering the Aka and other indigenous peoples. <small>(needs to be evaluated)</small>

At a United States congressional hearing in 2021, John H. Knox testified that WWF provided financial and material support to protected areas in Africa despite knowing, often for many years, that human rights abuses were alleged to have taken place there.

Music

Their complex polyphonic music has been studied by various ethnomusicologists. Simha Arom has made historical field recordings of some of their repertoire. Michelle Kisliuk has written a detailed performance ethnography. Mauro Campagnoli studied their musical instruments in depth, comparing them to neighbouring pygmy groups such as the Baka Pygmies.

Aka musicians appear on African Rhythms (György Ligeti, Steve Reich and Pierre-Laurent Aimard, 2003), Echoes of the Forest: Music of the Central African Pygmies (Ellipsis Arts, 1995), BOYOBI: Ritual Music of the Rainforest Pygmies (Louis Sarno, 2000), and Bayaka: The Extraordinary Music of the BaBenzele Pygmies (Louis Sarno, 1996).

Films

The 2013 film Song from the Forest tells the story of American Louis Sarno who lived among the Bayaka pygmies in the Central African rainforest for 25 years and travels with his son, 13-year-old Samedi, to New York City.

Notable people

  • Simon Samba, Central African politician

See also

Other Pygmy groups:

  • Efé
  • Baka
  • Twa peoples

Anthropologists studying the Aka:

  • Barry Hewlett
  • Michelle Kisliuk

Books

  • Seize the Dance! BaAka Musical Life and the Ethnography of Performance by Michelle Kisliuk (Oxford University Press, 2000).
  • Song from the Forest -- My Life Among the Ba-Benjellé Pygmies by Louis Sarno (Houghton Mifflin 1993).

References

  • Article: "Are the men of the African Aka tribe the best fathers in the world?"
  • Fieldwork about Baka, Aka and other pygmy groups
  • African Pygmies with photos, music and ethnographic notes
  • www.songfromtheforest.com (SONG FROM THE FOREST official website)
  • Countries and Their Cultures: Aka