![]() 1. Ritual healing dance player |
BAKA PYGMIES MUSIC and RITUALS TRADITIONAL DANCES Texts and photos by Mauro Campagnoli RETURN TO INDEX |
![]() 2. Baka dancer |
All the important Baka Pygmies rituals, like men's initiation or funeral rites, are accompanied by music and traditional dances. There are many types of these dances and every part of the forest has its own, which are performed exclusively by skilled dancers, who often have undergone a specific intitiation. |
![]() 3. Ritual dance drummers |
Sometimes the spirits of the forest reach the Baka camps and dance with the Pygmies, especially at night and in the moonlight. Besides, many dances are proper healing rituals, where the spirit or the healer can show their healing power in front of the whole community taking part into the rite. |
4. - 5. Day-time and night-time recreational dances |
![]() 6. Initiation drums |
![]() 7. Funeral dance players |
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