The Batwa are forest people who leaved in the forested areas at the boarder of Uganda, Rwanda and DR. Congo but because of the conservation programs, they were evicted from the forests and are now squatters on other people’s land with limited means of survival. In order to help them cope, Uganda wildlife authority and united organization started the Batwa trail project and it is being the international gorilla conservation together with the Greater Virunga Trans-boundary as well as USAID.
There are Batwa guides who take visitors on a Uganda Cultural Safari for the 8km hike in the forest to help them understand their origin and share the secret of how living in the forest used to be for them. During the hike, you will experience the amazing life that the Batwa once had before they got in contact with the other people which was just about 2000 years ago.
This is an opportunity to expose their unique culture to the world and in this way, they are preserving their culture so their little ones born out of the forest can understand their roots. You will notice how well these people know the forest and this knowledge is for sure a priceless resource that is worth protecting as it can be useful in conservation matters. Today, they are working with Uganda wildlife authority to protect the forest therefore they not involved in any illegal forest activities like trees cutting, animal killings, among others.
Their origin
According to the legend, the Batwa came from Gatwa who was one of the sons of Gihanga. Gatwa together with siblings Gahutu and Gatutsi had their abilities tested by their father using 3 milk jugs that he gave them before night fall. The next day he found Gatutsi with a full jug, Gahutu with half jug and Gatwa with an empty one. He blessed their talents accpordingly, so Gatutsi received herds of cattle and land for grazing so his kids never lack food or milk and Gahutu received a hoe and land for farming but Gatwa was given a bow and arrows as well as a spear and his father said that Gatwa was to solely depend on the forest for survival. This explains their attachment and dependency on the forest.
How they lived
They often lived in communities of about 20-25 homes, they are often all related and with a chief or king as the community leader. They lived in small huts accommodating not so many people, they were built with leaves and branches. Alternatively, hey had the caves to provide extra shelter in case of the rain or strong wind. They often built makeshift houses setup by bending tree leaves tie them together to make a roof.
The men did the hunting with the help of dogs while the women went gathering the fruits, vegetation, staple food more so the wild yams which are believe to be deformers as well from the jungle. They often hunt the small animals like the rabbits, b0irds, the big animals like elephants, buffaloes but it required team work and it is from these animals that they got the skins to wear. They never kill gorillas because to them, gorillas look a lot more like humans. After hunting, the family feast but they always have to offer some of it to Biheko god kept in a small shrine.
Gathering includes collecting honey from the forests something that the Batwa eat a lot of honey which is probably why they are healthy and strong. In terms of their culture, honey is used while praying to their gods, used in marriage ceremonies and burials. It is used as medicine for chest pains especially. They have great skills of collecting honey without being attacked by bees and also know the difference between these bees like those they called underground bees and those that build up in trees. They know which ones sting and how to get their honey out without being stung.
The kids start their informal education at a tender age and by 10 years, they can easily survive on their own if parents are not there. They dress in animals skins, parents make a raised bed while kids sleep down on leaves. For protection in the night, they always started a fire in front of the hut to scare away the animals.
The men and women have their roles and responsibilities as well as they children however they have to help out when there is need for example when there is a drought when the close by water source dry up, both the men and women together with all the children that can walk through the forest will help fetch the water. They cut bamboo stems into along pipe and make it a hollow so that they can collect water from there. The kids get smaller bamboos, they carry honey and meat after hunting the same way. When bamboo is cut short, it can be used as cooking pots by simply packing the food in the bamboo, cover tight with the leaves and put it on fire.
Their spiritual beliefs.
They believe they have the responsibility to care for the forests and that their god Biheko requires them to do so. Places like caves, gorges, rocks are the places of worship. They believe these gods have the power to bring about a disaster like sickness, droughts, hunger and even death if not appeased. There are cultural rituals that they perform to protect their people from issues like death.
When there were deaths, the whole community would relocate to another place after the funeral of a member and they never look back. But now that they have been pushed out of the forest areas, they feel like they have been separated from the spirits of the death they left in the forest thus the reason they are not happy wherever they are today.
How they live today
Unfortunately for the Batwa, they own neither the land nor the forest. They have become squatters and yet they are still facing the challenge of ethnic prejudice because of their pygmy ancestry. They don’t freely socialize with the rest of the people because they still have a negative stereotype about the Batwa. They are severely discriminated to an extent that they can’t sit or eat with the other people or share resources like water sources at the same time thus making their lives very difficult.
In terms of health, tough illnesses like HIV which has started affecting their communities because they are the majority victims of rape. Majority is unemployed, living in very bad houses, kids are not in school therefore very few of them can read or write, among so many other challenges
