Relocated to the Roadside: Preliminary Observations on the Forest Peoples of Gabon

Abstract

The Forest Peoples of Gabon (commonly referred to as the Pygmies) have, until recently, attracted little attention in the academic forum. It seems it is widely assumed that these groups are largely assimilated into dominant neighbouring ethnic groups and have consequently adopted new cultural practices and lost many of their own (Anderson, 1983). Recent research has revealed a range of socio-economic situations including forest-based semi-nomadic communities who combine hunting and gathering with shifting cultivation. However, the majority of Gabon's Forest Peoples have moved to the roadside, and where the last forest-based groups remain, relocation is inevitable or in process. Integrating ideas of history both exogenous and local, the aim of this paper is to consider the reasons why the Forest Peoples of Gabon have been relocated to the roadside in both academic and real terms. Based on recent fieldwork it provides preliminary observations on: the present distribution, settlement patterns and subsistence strategies of the Forest Peoples of Gabon; the processes by which they have been (and continue to be) relocated; and the effects of their various efforts to accept or reject inclusion.