Indeksowane metadane
Pygmies – Construct and Reality
Since the time of Homer, “Pygmies” have been a literary motif in scientific disputes as short stature peoples that no one has ever seen. It wasn’t until 1870 that, in search of the sources of the Nile, G.A. Schweinfurth combined the Homer name “Pygmies” with specific people he met on the edge of the forests of Africa. Since then they have become the subject of scientific research. There are two policies regarding the “Pygmies”. One demands keeping them “in the natural state”, the other requires settling and learning agriculture. Each group has its name, history, language, etc. Unfortunately, they remain a construct – everyone has heard of them, but no one really knows them. The aim of the article is to present the complexity of the “Pygmy” case and show how much the fate of given populations depends on the state of knowledge, awareness of the problem and adopted strategies.