Fishery products in the African rainforest
1. Fish, shrimps and crabs.
African Pygmies   > Baka Pygmies   > Economy

Dam Fishing

(Baka Pygmies of Cameroon,
Gabon and Congo)
Photos, texts and audio recordings
by Luis Devin
.Luis Devin - Ai confini del gusto.
Soundscape: flowing river in the African rainforest.
Pygmies making a log dam in a stream
Pygmy woman gathering fish in the bed of a rain forest stream
2. Construction of the dam in a rainforest stream.
Go to the page: Rainforest material gathering
3. Gathering of fish and shellfish on the bed of the stream.

Dam fishing, a prevalently female activity, is the most popular fishing technique used by Baka Pygmies, above all during dry seasons, when the water level is low and it is easier to drain the streams and find fish in the mud.

In small or large groups, and with a sense of great cooperation, women organize short expeditions towards water courses.
Pygmy elderly laying a log in the dam
4. Baka woman making
the dam with logs,
leaves and mud.
Pygmy girl searching fish and shellfish in a rain forest river
5. Search of fish, shrimps and crabs
in burrows on the banks of a stream.
Go to the page: Net fishing in rainforest rivers
Pygmy girl with a basket of fish
6. Dam fishing products,
in a woven plant fiber basket.
Go to the page: Weaving works
African rain forest eel lying on the ground
7. Eel caught in a rainforest stream.
Go to the page: Food preparation
Thematic links and insights:
The author:
Music anthropologist and writer, he has carried out field research in central Africa, where he lived with the Baka Pygmies and other forest peoples, whose music, rituals and survival strategies he has been studying for more than a decade.

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Dam fishing among Baka Pygmies, with photos and ethnographic notes (Baka Pygmies of Cameroon, Gabon and Congo).

Photos, texts and audio recordings by Luis Devin.
Page URL: http://www.pygmies.org/baka/dam-fishing.php

Photos, videos and sounds are available for licensing, both for multimedia use and paper publications. For the terms and conditions, contact the author from the Contact page.


The time in the tropical rainforests of the Western Congo Basin, where the Baka Pygmy people live, is 00:01. Every minute, at least 25 hectares (250.000 m²) of forest are destroyed around the world (source: WWF).

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