History of the name Pygmy and its importance for the Pygmies themselves.

Abstract

Many people and organizations misunderstand the concept behind the name Pygmy. This misunderstanding leads them to misinterpretations and erroneous judgements about its use. This article goes back to the origin of the name in order to clarify the meaning that it has today, especially for the Pygmies themselves. The term 'pygmy' originated in ancient Greece where it was employed for a legendary people who, in Greek mythology, were engaged in an unceasing battle against cranes. Although the morphology of the pygmies described by the ancient Greeks cannot be fully characterized, the term 'pygmy' was used for centuries to refer to a population of small stature living close to the Nile. This led scientists and travellers in modern times to refer to populations of small stature living in equatorial Africa as pygmies. The distinction between Pygmies and non-Pygmies in this region matches the presence of two kinds of populations whose identities are defined in contraposition to one another by socio-cultural aspects. Genetic population studies have suggested that the Pygmies split from non-Pygmy populations around 60,000 years BP. Very importantly, the use of the name Pygmy is gratifying to the Pygmies themselves and it appears in the title of almost all Pygmy rights organizations. The name Pygmy thus covers populations sharing a particular phenotype, having a common origin and thus a biological identity, as well as socio-cultural characteristics which are diverse but nevertheless distinguish them from non-Pygmy populations. Furthermore, the name Pygmy has a dual function for the Pygmies themselves, at once asserting their common identity in contraposition to non-Pygmies ("Big-blacks" as they call them) and conveying their claims against those who despise them, who are the same "Big-blacks".