- [Narrator] People who have wandered
Central Africa for centuries.
Today they live in the humid rainforest
of southeastern Cameroon.
This ancient place is immensely rich in wildlife.
But for all its biological riches,
it is a difficult environment in which to live.
(speaking foreign language)
Few people have the knowledge
and ingenuity to survive here.
Only the Baka have developed the skills
to exploit its wealth.
A wealth that yields medicines from leaves.
- [Narrator] And compounds from bark and seeds
to make poisons for arrows.
- [Narrator] The Baka have this extraordinary
knowledge of the forest, but it's their personality
enriched by the forest itself
that makes the Baka even more remarkable.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] These are the Baka,
The people of the forest.
This is their story.
(dramatic music)
- [Announcer] To better understand our world.
Ourselves.
And our future, this program was made possible
by the people of Chevron.
Chevron, giving thought to television.
- [Announcer] Additional funding provided
by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
(singing in foreign language) (gentle music)
- [Narrator] The heart of Africa.
Below the clouds lie the rainforests of southeast Cameroon.
This is the home of the Baka.
The Baka left camp this morning.
For the last three months they have been
on a journey through the forest hunting and gathering.
Traveling with the group is Laykano and his family.
(speaking foreign language)
His son Yaya is eight years old.
- [Narrator] Ali is four.
At 40, Kaykano is the second oldest of all the men.
- [Narrator] His wife Deni is in her early 20s,
and she's expecting their next child.
- [Narrator] Their three month journey
through the forest has been tiring.
Today's camp will be the last before the Baka reach home.
(gentle music)
Within an hour or so the frameworks are ready for roofing.
- [Narrator] The shelters will only
be used for a night or two,
but they're strong enough to keep out the heaviest storm.
It's always like this.
The women establish camp after a few hour's walk,
while the men look for food.
Close by, Laykano and the other men
are breaking open a termite mound.
They're after winged termites
that have gathered in the top of the mound.
(speaking foreign language)
The smoke stops the termites from retreating underground.
(speaking foreign language)
They're not all edible.
The bites of the defending termites are painful.
Thing winged termites are plump and full of fat and protein.
They taste like raw egg.
(speaking foreign language)
These temporary camps are always established
within easy reach of rivers.
(speaking foreign language)
Many of the trees and vines of the forest contain poisons.
The Baka have an intimate knowledge
of these plants and how to use them.
(speaking foreign language)
The chemicals in these vines are called rotenones.
To release them the creepers have to be beaten into a pulp.
(speaking foreign language)
By rinsing the pulp in the fast-flowing water,
the chemicals are dispersed into the river.
The river flows into a small patch of savanna.
It's too wet for rainforest to grow here,
so these open areas are dominated by palms.
The chemicals that have dissolved
in the river are not poisonous.
Instead they deprive the fish of oxygen.
Unable to breathe, they float to the surface.
- [Narrator] At the camp the women
are setting off to gather fruits.
Only during the rainy season do the Baka
travel this far into the forest.
They have come in search of the feki fruit.
The seeds are rich in oil.
Every rainy season for hundreds of years
the Baka have come to collect the fruit in this way.
(speaking foreign language)
It's almost the end of the rainy season
and much of the feki fruit has already been gathered.
Those fruit still left on the trees
are a rich source of food for gorillas.
To get at them, they will climb
100 feet or more into the canopy.
Adults like these may weigh 400 pounds,
and these are the animals the Baka fear most in the forest.
Elephants also roam the forest here.
Many fruits like feki must through an elephant's stomach
to have a better chance of germinating.
Large mammals and large birds like these giant horn bills
give the rainforest here its special character.
They too are essential.
Dispersing the seeds that will become
the next generation of the forest.
In the camp, the women are already
preparing the feki fruits.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] The seeds are crushed
to provide a precious oily paste.
This will be used for cooking in the months to come.
(speaking foreign language)
For centuries the Baka have been
called pygmies by the outside world.
It's a name they dislike and feel is derogatory.
Most of the people here are under five feet tall,
but in the forest, and to the Baka,
their size is irrelevant.
(gentle music)
(singing in foreign language)
- [Narrator] Such tales told only deep in the forest
are important for the children's education.
(speaking foreign language)
(thunder crashing)
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] The dry season in beginning.
Ahead like 10 hours of hard walking before reaching home.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] Laykano was told this by his father.
All stories are handed down in this way.
- [Narrator] Home is a permanent village.
Still deep in the forest and 10 miles
from the nearest dirt road.
Deni and Laykano spend most of the year here,
and share this village with 20 or so members
of their extended family.
Local villages of the Konabembe tribe
bring metal goods and clothes from the outside world.
These are traded with the Baka for meat from the forest,
and for occasional work they do
on the nearby Konabembe plantations.
Although they speak different languages,
they can easily understand each other.
(speaking foreign language)
The Baka have never been truly isolated,
and have always relied on these local villagers
for material goods.
The Konabembe also come to the Baka for medicines.
Usa is well known for her cure for infertility.
This Konabembe woman has been unable to conceive
and has come for treatment.
- [Narrator] Usa has successfully treated friends
of this woman in the past.
(speaking foreign language)
The medicine is from a small plant called njaya.
Elsewhere in Africa it is used to treat gonorrhea.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] Deni is preparing medicine
from the heartwood of the ingeli tree.
It's to make Ali grow up big and strong.
Sand is used as an abrasive to create a red paste.
- [Narrator] Soap comes naturally from certain leaves.
- [Narrator] Washing is important
before applying the medicine.
- [Narrator] It's important to look after
children in the forest.
Illness and death can strike suddenly.
Many a child is lost in infancy.
(speaking foreign language)
Occasionally the Baka will go into the forest at night.
This is often the best time to look for honey.
Honeybees are active at the nest well before dawn.
The earliest foragers lead by the light of the full moon
in search of flowers high in the canopy.
The first bee has arrived.
Below, Laykano and Babu have been
waiting for the flowers to talk.
A tree talking is a tree humming with bees.
By listening to the sound of the returning bees,
they can discover the direction of the nest.
- [Narrator] The light of dawn
reveals the site of the nest, high in the canopy.
Two more men arrive from the village.
Mewunga is Lakano's brother-in-law and he is to climb.
The nest is 140 feet above the forest floor.
Very few Baka would attempt a climb like this.
- [Narrator] Mewunga is using a strong
pliable vine to help him climb.
By cutting tiny foot holes he will
slowly inch his way up the tree.
The climb will take several hours.
Not far from the village,
a golden cat has killed an antelope.
The cat is elusive and seldom seen by the Baka.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] The women left the village
at dawn to come dam fishing.
It's only the women who fish in this way.
(speaking foreign language)
Below the damn, the remaining water
is scooped further downstream.
Dams must be constantly reinforced.
Deni is nine months pregnant,
but that doesn't stop her from working
as hard as the other women.
As the water recedes, the fish retreat under rocks.
- [Narrator] During the dry season
other fish lie dormant deep in the mud
below the banks of the river and have to be dug out.
- [Narrator] The cat poses no real danger to the women,
but it's a relief when it's gone.
- [Narrator] They're off to find out how the climb is going.
- [Narrator] Mewunga is already
some 70 feet above the forest floor.
(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
In the nest, tens of thousands of stinging bees
pose a serious threat to Mewunga's life.
Before he climbs any higher,
he must have the protection of a bundle of smoking leaves.
- [Narrator] At this height a single slip means death.
Two men were killed last year climbing trees for honey.
(gentle music)
(speaking foreign language)
(bees buzzing)
Mewunga stuffs bark scrapings containing
cyanide compound into the nest.
Followed by smoking leaves.
This stuns the bees, which in their panic,
gorge themselves on honey and become lethargic.
Mewunga is not stung once.
- [Narrator] The nest has to be hacked open
to get at the comb inside.
- [Narrator] Mewunga is completely confident
working at this height.
The honey basket has to be hauled up 140 feet to his perch.
- [Narrator] 30 pounds of honey
are lowered to the crowd below.
(speaking foreign language)
Honeyguides feed on beeswax,
and are never far away when there's honey around.
- [Narrator] Honey is the ultimate gift of the forest,
and very little of it will return to the village.
(speaking foreign language)
(gentle music) (singing in foreign language)
The bees descend immediately to the
scattered combs tossed aside by the Baka.
All available honey is taken back
to the shattered remnants of the nest.
Forest bees are often reluctant to desert a raided nest.
In time, this one will be completely rebuilt.
(gentle music)
Other animals also take advantage
of the spoils of the honey climb.
A honey badger is quick to seize such an opportunity.
Although it's quite capable of tackling
a bee's nest with his massive claws,
it readily scavenges on these combs left by the Baka.
(speaking foreign language)
Unexpectedly Deni has felt her baby change position.
- [Narrator] This medicine,
which contains plant estrogens, is always used during labor.
- [Narrator] Ali blesses the medicine.
(speaking foreign language)
Her hands are no larger than a thumbnail.
Her shoulders from tip to tip, the size of a little finger.
(speaking foreign language)
Ali is distraught.
The baby has taken his place beside Deni.
- [Narrator] Ali's sister, born into the world of the Baka.
The first sounds she hears are those of her people.
Her village.
Her forest.
Her people are the people of the rainforest.
(gentle music)
(singing in foreign language)
Several weeks later and Ali is adjusting
to his new place in the family.
(singing in foreign language)
(both humming)
(speaking foreign language)
(singing in foreign language) (gentle music)
- [Announcer] WonderWorks presents
CS Lewis's magical story about four children
who discover a fantasy kingdom while exploring a wardrobe.
You whole family will enjoy
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Friday night at 8:00 on WonderWorks.
Next the season open of Frontline
looks at the career of President Reagan
and assesses the legacy of his administration.
Frontline is next on KCPT, public television.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] 18 months have now passed
since Kamila was born.
- [Narrator] During this time Laykano and Deni
have been teaching her about the forest.
(gentle music)
- [Narrator] For all children growing up here,
the last 18 months have been a mixture
of fun and gradual adjustment
to the responsibilities of Baka life.
(children babbling)
- [Narrator] Takala has asked to have his teeth sharpened.
Not everyone has it done, for those that do,
it reinforces their sense of being Baka.
- [Narrator] For some boys life after today
will never be quite the same.
Six boys have been confined to this hut
for the last few days.
They are approaching puberty,
and are preparing to be initiated by Jengi,
the forest spirit.
Jengi was summoned to the village by Ikundum.
As the oldest man, he alone has the power.
Jengi is constantly guarded in his lair beyond the village.
- [Narrator] Torches for Jengi's nightly dances
are prepared from tree resin.
- [Narrator] The tooth sharpening
has proved to much for Takala.
(children laughing)
- [Narrator] The ripe banana skin warmed by the fire
acts as a poultice.
- [Announcer] We will return to Baka Growing Up
on the Discovery Channel.
- [Narrator] Children learn from the earliest age
how to find and prepare medicines from the forest.
(speaking foreign language)
The bark of the mayimba tree is used
to treat coughs and colds.
This medicinal knowledge is easily
acquired through shared experience.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] The children have been
left to their own devices while Deni
and the other mothers have gone dam fishing.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] Jengi, the most important forest spirit,
arrived at the village some weeks ago.
His presence is called upon every few years
when enough boys are ready for initiation into manhood.
He has decided to initiate the boys this afternoon.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] The news is relayed
to the initiates waiting in the hut.
Jengi will be coming for them.
- [Narrator] Ali and his friends
are too young to be initiated
and have little interest in Jengi.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Announcer] We will return to Baka Growing Up.
(rhythmic music) (singing in foreign language)
- [Narrator] The boys are nervous.
As they're led across the courtyard,
they must run the gauntlet of Jengi
who is threatening to kill them.
(speaking foreign language)
The boys are taken towards Jengi's lair
where they are to be initiated.
They have no idea what lies in store
for them beyond the gate.
(rhythmic music) (villagers cheering)
(singing in foreign language)
The initiates are finally carried
through the gate into Jengi's lair.
Jengi is now at his most dangerous.
He storms after them, slashing the gate to the ground.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] No flies must land on the blood
before Jengi's found and persuaded
to bring the boys back to life.
(speaking foreign language)
- [Narrator] Now the initiates
take their place in the barrier of men.
Playing their new role in protecting the women from Jengi.
(singing in foreign language) (rhythmic music)
Jengi leaves the village for the last time.
His presence has again reinforced
their spiritual link with the forest.
(speaking foreign language)
(singing in foreign language)
- [Narrator] In a few years Jengi will return
to initiate Ali into manhood.
(gentle music) (singing in foreign language)
- [Announcer] Life in the rainforest is difficult,
but growing up in many African cities isn't much easier.
Children there must also struggle for food and a home.
That's true of the members of Bernard's gang.
Their story is next.
- [Announcer] The Falklands War, The Untold Story--