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The Pygmies, a group of hunter-gatherers, are native mainly to:
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Answer: Option A — Central Africa (Congo Basin)
Detailed Solution
The Pygmy peoples are hunter-gatherer communities who live mainly in the tropical rainforests of Central Africa, especially in the Congo Basin.
About the Pygmy peoples:
The term "Pygmy" refers to several ethnic groups whose adult members are unusually short, with average heights of about 150 cm or less for men. The word comes from the Greek "pygmaios", meaning a unit of length (from elbow to knuckles).
Many of them consider the term "Pygmy" offensive; they prefer to be known by their own group names. The term "forest peoples" is also used.
They live in countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Gabon, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda.
Their total population is estimated at about 5 to 9 lakh.
Major groups:
- Mbuti (Bambuti): live in the Ituri Rainforest of the DRC; among the shortest groups.
- Aka (BaAka): live in the Central African Republic and the Republic of the Congo.
- Baka: live in Cameroon, Gabon and the Republic of the Congo.
- Twa (Batwa): live in the Great Lakes region (Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda and the DRC).
Their way of life:
- They traditionally live by hunting (with nets, bows and arrows, and spears), fishing, and gathering honey, fruits, roots and nuts from the forest.
- They live in small, mobile groups in temporary huts made of branches and leaves.
- They have a deep knowledge of the forest, plants and animals.
They are famous for their complex polyphonic singing. The "Oral Traditions of the Aka Pygmies of Central Africa" were proclaimed a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in 2003.
Threats:
- Deforestation, logging, mining, war and the creation of national parks have pushed them out of their forests.
- They often face discrimination and poverty.
About the Congo Basin:
- It is the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, after the Amazon.
- The Congo river is the deepest river in the world.
Other hunter-gatherer peoples:
- San (Bushmen): Kalahari Desert, southern Africa.
- Hadza: Tanzania.
- Aboriginal peoples: Australia.
- Yanomami: Amazon rainforest (Brazil and Venezuela).
- Jarawa and Sentinelese: Andaman Islands, India.
- "Negrito" groups in Southeast Asia, such as the Aeta of the Philippines.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Australia's indigenous people are the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
- ✗The Amazon Basin has groups such as the Yanomami.
- ✗Southeast Asia has some short-statured "Negrito" groups, but the main Pygmy peoples are in Central Africa.
Quick tip
Remember: Pygmies = Central Africa, Congo Basin rainforests (Mbuti in Ituri, Aka, Baka, Twa); San (Bushmen) = Kalahari; Hadza = Tanzania; Yanomami = Amazon; Congo Basin = second-largest rainforest.
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World Geography — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of World Geography, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
This topic covers the physical and political geography of the world: continents, major countries, mountain ranges, plateaus, rivers, deserts, grasslands, and the world's important cities, ports and resources. Exams test the longest rivers (the Nile and the Amazon), the highest peaks and the ranges they belong to, the largest deserts, and the local names of grasslands, such as the Prairies, Pampas, Steppes and Veld. Questions on cities located on rivers, such as Baghdad on the Tigris or London on the Thames, are also common. Practise the world geography questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.