What is the meaning of Pygmy? Concept, Definition of Pygmy

Definition, Concept, Meaning, What is Pygmy

1. Concept of Pigmy

Pygmy (from the Greek πυγμαιος, pygmaios, "of small size") is the term used to refer to a series of human hunter-gatherer groups living in Equatorial African jungles and are characterized by their low stature: men are less than 1.5 m on average.
The pygmies are located in the Central African area (region of Congo). Sometimes called also Pygmies to the aborigines of lesser stature of Southeast Asia and other regions. The most studied groups are the mbuti of the jungle of Ituri in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which were the subject of a study by Colin Turnbull (The Forest People, 1962). Among the other African groups are the aka, baka, binga, efe, gok and twa.
They hunt with nets and arrows of antelopes, monkeys, pigs, birds and other animals, gather fruits, tubers and honey and also practice exchanges with the neighboring towns, and some work for those neighbors, who in most cases have adopted the language. There are several common words for Pygmy tribes African, even the most detached, which indicates that in the past they could have had a common language. One of these words is the name of the spirit of the jungle, Jengi.
It is also a generic term used in medicine to refer to a category of dwarves who have normal GH hormone levels but have a hormone IGF-I deficiency causing limbs to be small while its flat bones such as the shoulders, back and tailbone are normal-sized.
Herodotus of Halicarnassus collects its first historical references in her book 2 Euterpe, with the fable of Etearco.
By genetic evidence, it is estimated that they diverged from the other African groups very formerly: 70,000 years ago, adapting to life in the African equatorial forest. This would be the oldest human divergence after the of the khoisan. Likewise the difference among the Pygmies of the East with the West would be about 20,000 years.
In the Republic of the Congo is estimated that the babongo and babinga Pygmies make up 10% (about 300,000) Although there is no official data that Shenzhen to the indigenous population. Their earliest references such as civilizacón are mentioned in book two of Herodotus of Halicarnassus.

2 Meaning of Pigmy

Pygmy, an ethnic group that is characterized by adult height less than 1.50 m, very dark skin and curly hair, which are hereditary traits. The Pygmy peoples live in the rain forests of central Africa, in the Malay peninsula (semang ethnicity), Philippines (aeta and other peoples), New Guinea (various ethnic groups) and the Andamans (andamanese) of the India Center.
Some groups retain their traditional way of life based on hunting and gathering (see Hunter-gatherers), while others have abandoned it in favor of a sedentary agricultural existence.
He is believed that Pygmies Africans--the most numerous group, estimated between 150,000 and 300,000 individuals--lived in the basin of the Congo River before the arrival of other villagers. Today they live also in Gabon and Cameroon. The best known ethnic group, the mbuti or bambuti, are those of lower stature, with an average of 1.30 m. African Pygmies, together with the Bushmen and Hottentots (see Khoikhoi), part of the paleoafricanos peoples.
Pygmies Asians, such as the aeta, who the Spaniards called "negritos", represent very primitive human groups. The andamanese unknown methods of fire and therefore keep bonfires on a permanent basis. The semang moran in the tops of the trees or build simple windscreen of leaves and branches.
Modern Anthropology and studies on the blood group show the Pygmies in Africa, Asia, Oceania and the India to belong to two different races, since they differ genetically and have independent origins.

3. Definition of Pigmy

The Greek term which derived the Latin pygmaeus and who came to our language as Pygmy can be used in different ways. The origin of the concept is associated with a population of whose members, according to the poets of ancient Greece, had a reduced height and fantasy were warriors.
Now known as Pygmies to members of certain ethnic groups in Africa and Asia that are characterized by their low height, since men do not usually exceed the meter and a half tall.
The Pygmies live in forested regions and get their food from hunting and gathering. Most of these villages is located in the center of Africa, although there are pygmy peoples in Southeast Asia. It is believed that share certain traits in common, all the Pygmy ethnic groups have the same ancestors.
It is important to highlight that, throughout history, the Pygmies have been discriminated against, persecuted and enslaved by their particular condition. Today, estimates indicate that there are still some 500,000 Pygmies in the African jungles.
Pygmy adjective can also be used to qualify to all persons of short stature and animals or small things. In this sense, we can nominate the Pygmy hippopotamus, a species much smaller than the best-known hippopotamus (which can weigh up to three tonnes, against little more than two hundred kilograms weighing Pygmy hippos).
When Pygmy is applied as an adjective to a person who does not belong to the ethnic group mentioned, the term has a derogatory connotation. For example: "How dare you talk to me so, Pygmy?".