The Ba’Aka Adventure – Part 1
Wednesday, February 6th, 2008We spent the first day in CAR buying goods such as rice in Bayanga that were needed for the camping trip. While waiting around in Bayanga, I saw a number of duikers go by in baskets that had been purchased in the local market area. Duikers are small antelope that live in the rainforest and all of this bushmeat is adding up in an alarming rate. There is some legal hunting in the area, but all indications are that most if not all of this bushmeat is based on illegal hunting. The following morning we arrived at the village where Louis Sarno lives and we seemed to be greeted by dozens of Ba’Aka with a celebration including drumming and a mythical dancing character made out of leaves. Unfortunately, we soon learned that this was a death celebration for a woman that died a few days later in labor after giving birth to one of her twins. Ups and downs like this are just part of Ba’Aka life.
[read on]
vagabondrick