Spotlight on the Batwa Pygmies of Uganda

Published June 8, 2012

Published in Volcanoes News

Referred to as the first people, the Batwa (formally known as Pygmies) were the first inhabitants of the forests and hills of East Africa. The Batwa lived, relatively undisturbed, in the forested areas of the region until around 2000 years ago when the expanding Bantu peoples from the west of the continent arrived and began to clear the forests for use agriculturally. As more land was gradually cleared for farming the Batwa were forced into the remaining forests in more remote and mountainous regions. This process has continued into the present day and eventually this meant that in Uganda they were restricted to the mountain forests of the Rwenzoris, Bwindi and the Virungas. Finally in 1991 with the gazetting of the National Parks, the Batwa were forced out of their last remaining ancestral forest. Unfortunately, the Batwa had never official owned the forests, not surprising given their ancient culture has no concept of ownership, and so they received no compensation when they were evicted. As a result, the community suffers from terrible poverty and Batwa often struggle to adapt to the more modern society in which they are forced to live.

Batwa culture is one of the most ancient and endangered in the entire world. For thousands of years they have survived in the forest and have a vast store of cultural knowledge relating to this. Historically, Batwa people would have had an in depth knowledge of forest plants, especially for medicinal purposes, they could track bees to find their hives and collect honey and had a whole range of techniques used to survive. Traditionally this knowledge would have been passed on orally through dancing and storytelling but now much of this knowledge is no longer relevant to their lives and sadly, despite the Batwa retaining their love of stories and dance, is being lost in modern communities.

In Uganda, Batwa constitute around 0.03% of the total population, with the highest number (just under 1000) living in the Kisoro region. Their small numbers and lack of education and wealth mean they have little political clout, and as a result have become very much marginalised in society. It is for this reason the Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT) is involved in helping the community around Mount Gahinga Lodge (around 25 families) in the hope that we can improve the lives not only of those local to us but also, through increasing awareness, the position of the Batwa in Ugandan society as a whole.

The VSPT have begun to support the Batwa Dance Group. The dance group was originally identified for use in the UWA Batwa Trail in Mgahinga National Park, however it offered limited opportunity to earn money and subsequently the VSPT agreed to support the initiative entirely. The group now perform once a week on Volcanoes Safaris land for the benefit of the local community and Volcanoes Safaris clients.

You can learn about the Batwa culture first-hand when visiting Uganda around Mount Gahinga and Bwindi with Volcanoes Safaris. Particularly around Mount Gahinga Lodge, the Batwa Dance Group, the Batwa trail and other cultural exchange activities are a major appeal of the lodge! It's important to help protect their way of life and learn from it as much as we can.

Spotlight on the Batwa Pygmies of Uganda

Categories