Pygmy peoples: Difference between revisions

The term ''pygmy'', as used to refer to diminutive people, derives from [[Ancient Greek|Greek]] πυγμαῖος ''pygmaios'' via [[Latin]] ''Pygmaei'' (sing. ''Pygmaeus''), derived from πυγμή – meaning a short forearm cubit, or a measure of length corresponding to the distance from the wrist to the elbow or knuckles.<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Pygmy |volume=22 |pages=677–679 |first=Robert Murray |last=Leslie |short=1}}</ref> (See also [[Cubit#Ancient Greece|Greek πῆχυς]] ''pēkhys''.) In [[Greek mythology]] the word describes a tribe of [[dwarfism|dwarfs]], first described by [[Homer]], the ancient Greek poet, and reputed to live in [[India]] and south of modern-day [[Ethiopia]].<ref>[http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pygmy pygmy] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131029195134/http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=pygmy |date=2013-10-29 }}. Online Etymology Dictionary.</ref>

The term ''pygmy'' is sometimes considered [[pejorative]]. However, there is no single term to replace it.<ref>Hewlett, Barry S. "Cultural diversity among African pygmies." In: ''[http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/hewlett/cultdiv.html Cultural Diversity Among Twentieth-Century Foragers] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609193744/http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/fac/hewlett/cultdiv.html |date=2010-06-09 }}''. Susan Kent, ed. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1996.</ref> In French speaking Africa, they are sometimes referred to as '''autochthon''',<ref name=Guardian0719>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jul/22/gorillas-charcoal-fight-survival-congo-rainforest|title=Gorillas, charcoal and the fight for survival in Congo's rainforest|work=[[The Guardian]] |date=22 July 2019|access-date=1 September 2019}}</ref> (''autochtone''), referring to 'native' or 'indigenous'. Many prefer to be identified by their ethnicity, such as the [[Aka people|Aka]] (Mbenga), [[Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon)|Baka]], [[Mbuti]], and [[Twa peoples|Twa]].<ref name=focus>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/w1033e/w1033e03.htm Forest peoples in the central African rain forest: focus on the pygmies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161025131122/http://www.fao.org/docrep/w1033e/w1033e03.htm |date=2016-10-25 }}.</ref> The term ''[[Bayaka]]'', the plural form of the Aka/Yaka, is sometimes used in the [[Central African Republic]] to refer to all local pygmies. Likewise, the [[Kongo language|Kongo]] word ''Bambenga'' is used in [[Congo Basin|Congo]]. In parts of Africa they are called Wochua or Achua.<ref>Chisholm,{{cite Hugh,EB1911 ed. (1911). "|wstitle=Wochua" . Encyclopædia Britannica. |volume=28 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. |page=767.}}</ref>