Tribes in the Tropical Rainforest

There are around 50 million tribal people living in the worlds Rainforests, who depend on them for food and shelter to survive. As we destroy the forest, we are killing many people too. There are 3 main tribes which are well known, these are the Pygmy tribe, the Huli tribe and the Yanomami tribe. 


The Pygmy Tribe
The Pygmies are a Tropical Rainforest tribe that live in equatorial Rainforest regions. They are one tribe which are split into different smaller groups. These groups are the Bambuti, the Batwa, the Bayaka and the Bagyeli. The 'Ba' which each group starts with, stands for 'people'. They live scattered over  a huge area in central and western Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Burundi and Uganda. The different groups speak different languages, mostly related to non-Pygmy people close by. Although there are a few words which they all share, which gives the impression they may have shared a language in the past e.g. Jengi, which means forest spirit.  

The Pygmy people know the forest, its plants and its animals extremely well. They live by hunting animals like Pigs, Monkeys and Antelopes. Also they live by fishing and gathering honey, wild yams, berries and other plants. For the tribe, the forest provides what they need to survive. Pygmy groups have close ties with neighboring farming villagers and work for them or exchange forest produce for crops and other goods.

The Pygmy tribe

The Huli Tribe
The Huli tribe has a population of 65,000 people and is one of the most famous tribes in Papua New Guinea. The tribe (known as wig-men) set their home a small distance away from Tari City, which is situated in central highland of Papua New Guinea. 
Huli's are mostly cultivated, but approximately 1 tenth live a traditional life. Although this is true, for main events, the men come back to their indigenous customs. For these occasions, the city of Tari is filled with aborigines, dressed in Huli clothing of short skirts and traditional wigs decorated with feathers. They are also famous for painting their faces (usually red and yellow) and making wigs out of their own hair. The wigs are also decorated with feathers from Paradise birds and feathers from colorful Parrots. The back side of the Huli's throat is ornamented with various decorations, the most striking being a beak of a Hornbil. 

A member of the Huli tribe with the painted face and wearing a wig.

The Huli Tribe

The men and women live separate from each other, living in group houses. In the Huli society there is no government of any kind. Power and importance can be gained by any man. If he proves his worth, others will tend to follow his lead. 
To live, they hunt Yams, Manioc, on ocassion meat from village raised Pigs and wild Cassowary or other forest game such as tree Kangaroos. They also use the Rainforest to make the rounded grass huts they live in.




The Yanomami Tribe
The Yanomami tribe are one of the largest, relatively isolated, tribes in South America. They live in the Rainforests and Mountains of Northern Brazil and Southern Venezuela and have a population of 32,000 people. The Yanomami territory in Brazil, is twice the size of Switzerland. In Venezuela, the Yanomami live in the 8.2 million hectare Alco Orinoco - Casiquiare Biosphere Reserve. Together, these form the largest forested indigenous territory, in the world.
The Yanomami live in large, circular houses called Yanos or Shabonos. Some can hold up to 400 people. The central area is used for activities and each family has a hearth where food is prepared and cooked during the day.

The Yanomami tribe.

They believe strongly in equality among people. Each community is independent from other and they do not recognise 'chiefs'.  Decisions are made after long debates, after everyone has had their say. 
They use about 500 different plants for food, medicine, house building and other things. They provide for themselves by hunting, gathering, fishing and growing crops. Men hunt for game like Peccary, Tapir, Dear and Monkey and regularly use curare (a plant extract) to poison their prey. Hunting counts as 10% of their food but is considered the most prestigious of skills and meat is valued by everyone. Woman grow crops on their gardens which counts for 80% of the food. They also collect nuts, shellfish and insect larvae. Also they harvest 15 different types of wild honey. Men and women fish and Timbo (or fish poison) is used in communal fishing trips. They pound up bundles of vines, which are floated on the water. The poison stuns the fish, so they rise to the surface and are scooped up into baskets. 

The Yanomami tribe fishing

They use about 500 different plants for food, medicine, house building and other things. They provide for themselves by hunting, gathering, fishing and growing crops.