Pygmy Mother and Child–Bayanga, Central African Republic
Photographer’s comment: “In the winter of 2011, I traveled to Cameroon and the Central African Republic to perform fieldwork for my Master’s thesis on deforestation, climate change and the indigenous “Pygmies” of the Congo Basin Forest. Pygmy family bonds are strong and lasting. Through family, cultural skills are transmitted and acquired. Pygmy children become independent and autonomous at an early age. By three or four years of age, children often know how to cook a meal on the fire, and by the age of ten most of them have acquired enough subsistence skills to live off the forest. However, Pygmy societies have few rules or expectations. Parents rarely discipline their children. The nuclear family is much less important compared to western societies and non-parental caregivers regularly care for children, who end up being raised by their whole village.”
Name of photographer:
Mourad Shalaby
Location:
Bayanga, Central African Republic
