Baka Pygmies and the problem of hard alcohol

The making of "N'golo n'golo" - hard liquor used to enslave the Baka Pygmies.
A film made by Erasmus Nche in association with Global Music Exchange. http://www.1heart.org
The story of Ngolongolo and how it is destroying Baka culture. It is hard liquor, illegally distilled by the neighbouring Bantu farmers. There are now 5 stills on the doorstep of the Baka camp at Gbiné.
At first N'golo n'golo is given for free, even to children. The Baka quickly become addicted. It is often used as payment for Baka labour. Once they have had one glass, they want another, which is then given to them. This isn't a gift, they will have to pay. Since they rarely have cash this means they will have to work until their debt is paid off. In this way many Baka are trapped in debt and basicly have to work for the local farmers for free.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• Baka
• Pygmy
• Alcohol
• Alcoholism
• Distillation
• Rainforest
• Cameroon

[timtak1]

How long before the Baka get used to alcohlol, like the lady in the video? Or is it somehing physiological?

[bakabeyond]

@timtak1 As she says, the lady doesn't touch the stuff, she just makes it and sells it. Anyone drinking the amount that they will would be in the same state. As a hunter-gatherer you don't normally come across excess, and when you do it is good to gorge yourself as you don't know when the next time will be. Self restraint is not considered a virtue in their society, and this is exploited by the alsohol sellers.

[soukous70]

Damn,this type of cultural destruction should not surprise me,but it always does. Very similar to the use of alcohol to chip away at native american cultures in the 19th and 20th centuries.Damn. I am heatrbroken by this.

[bakabeyond]

It's not too late yet. In spite of this the Baka continue with their life. the bigger problem is loss of land to plantations, safari, logging, mining etc. The government policy is still to settle the Baka in villages which increases the alcoholism.

There are native communities that have been through this and come out the other side. I'm sure their experiences could help

[bakabeyond]

@buildsbest If you have any special experience/knowledge that can help then please let us know. We have several projects ongoing through Global Music Exchange. You can donate on the website at 1heart dot org (there's a link in the "show more" part of the description of this video)

[buildsbest]

@bakabeyond Thanks for your videos. Best wishes for any help that may safeguard the Baka people. How may we help?

[bakabeyond]

If the Cameroonian authorities upheld the law it could restrict the availablity of the N'golo n'golo. It has a much more damaging effect than other kinds of alcohol, such as metango (palm wine) and is illegal, but noone conrols it's use any more. Paul Bier, the president of Cameroon, has stated that he will turn a blind eye to it as his mother paid for his schooling through selling the stuff. We would like this video to be seen by his wife, Chantal, who has a soft spot for the Baka.

[seizetheweakened]

is there any solution?