Keywords: review, Batwa, marginalisation, global capitalism, economic reform, Great-Lake region, pygmy, social capital, moral capital, glocalisation, grobalisation, binary epistemology,
Background
Much is written about the Batwa pygmies of the great lakes region. Especially about their current standard of living, history, and their relationship towards the other ethnic groups in their surroundings. The Batwa pygmies inhabit parts of southern Uganda, eastern DRC, Rwanda and Burundi. Although they are historically know as the indigenous people of the great lakes region, they only make up between 0.02 and 0.07 % of the total population of the countries they inhabit (Lewis 2006: 4). In Burundi for instance, according to a survey conducted by UNIPROBA (Unissons-nous pour la Promotion des Batwa), the total population of Batwa in 2008 was estimated at 78,071 people or 1 % of Burundi’s total population.
The Batwa traditionally lived by hunting and gathering but due to processes of globalisation, colonisation, and economical integration into a capitalistic world system, most of the Batwa couldn’t maintain their traditional lifestyle and became more and more marginalized and oppressed. Traditionally, Batwa were ‘forest’ people. They provided themselves with victuals by dwelling throughout the forest. They had an outstanding knowledge about traditional medicine, survival skills, and hunting techniques. Their low impact on the environment made their lifestyle sustainable over more than a thousand years. Agriculturist Bahutu and pastoralist Batutsi that started to occupy the region caused severe deforestation what harmed the homes of thousands of Batwa. The latter were than integrated at the lowest level in society what mark...
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