How can the Bible help Cameroon’s pygmy people?

by freelance photojournalist Geoffrey Stamp

n A Baca man with a traditional musical instrument

SANGMÉLIMA, Cameroon — In the equatorial forests of south-east Cameroon live the Baca pygmies, a people small in stature and numbering around 25,000. Many of them follow the ways of their ancestors, travelling forest paths hundreds of years old and performing ancient customs and rituals.

Modernisation, however, has led to massive deforestation and the encroachment of urban developments into forested areas, forcing many Baca people to abandon their nomadic traditions and settle in roadside villages. There they cling resolutely to their remaining customs and keep to themselves, distrustful of outsiders. Poverty and disease is widespread.

Although they continue to use the forest for hunting and gathering food and other resources, their activities are strictly controlled by the government in an attempt to protect this rapidly-dwindling resource. In many ways, the Baca feel themselves a people under siege.

Difficult

The church has been working with the Baca people for many years but has found it difficult to reach significant numbers of them with the Word of God. The only printed Scripture resources available in Baca are a small portion of the New Testament, translated by SIL, and a small booklet produced by the Roman Catholic Church containing hymns, the story of Christ’s life and the Mass.

But few Baca are literate and those who can read are often unwilling to read the Scriptures, fearful of any intrusion into their way of life. Some have, however, responded positively to the Jesus film, which has been dubbed into Baca.

“The Baca are a people somewhat neglected by the authorities – they have poor facilities and few of their children attend school,” said the Rev Roger Bombang, BSC Fundraising Officer. “We want to find out how we can assist the churches as they offer these people physical and spiritual help. It may be that translating parts of the Bible and making them available on audio cassette is a worthwhile project.”

Megavoice

The Bible Society is also examining the possibility of reaching the Baca using Megavoice, a credit card-sized solar-powered audio device. This device, which is currently being tested in different climatic conditions by the UBS (see World Report 363), could prove an ideal tool for making God’s Word accessible in a practical, appealing way to the pygmy people.

Literacy, too, is another area in which the Bible Society is considering getting involved through the churches, but research is needed before proceeding with the publication of Baca New Reader Portions. A Bible Society team recently visited churches and pygmy villages to assess their Scripture needs.

In one village, only one man could read and he was reluctant to read the Roman Catholic Baca booklet shown him by the Bible Society. In another village, the elders were pleased to welcome the team and told them that they had heard that the Bible was a book about God. They expressed an interest in having materials in the Baca language although they could not read, and although some of them thought it would be a good idea to learn to read, others could not see how this would benefit them.

Complex

The issue of literacy among the Baca is a complex problem. Some Baca feel that literacy training could help lift them out of poverty, giving them access to jobs and more information about food production and disease prevention. Others, however, feel that this increased contact with outside cultures and modern life would be detrimental to their established customs and way of life. The Baca have fought hard to keep other cultures at bay.

The churches who work with the Baca are sensitive to this, but believe that engaging with the Scriptures does not require people to abandon their own cultures.

Albinos

“The Bible does not force people to give up their own culture,” said one church leader. “It does challenge them to sift it and question what is unacceptable, such as rejecting albinos and twins. Often people will find things in the Bible that fit into their traditional culture, which proves the universality of the Scriptures.