Radical Anthropology on Nostr: Respect for personal autonomy dictates that no one has the right to tell others what ...

Respect for personal autonomy dictates that no one has the right to tell others what they should or should not do, including children.

Children (under direct supervision) can play with knives or even fire. Thus, they learn to manipulate important and vital objects very early in their lives, which can be very useful in the harsh environment of a rainforest. Knives are used to cut a path through the forest; dig and peel wild yams; cut up and clean hunted animals; cutting vines and threads to produce baskets, mats and their huts...

In love (bòlíngó) the same thing happens: no one can impose anything on anyone in love relationships. Love is understood as the driving force to be together with someone, and they refer to what we understand as marriage with an expression of "union." (bòlòngá).

Divorce is quite common, many people enter into several monogamous relationships throughout their lives.

While the BaYaka practice a strict division of labor by gender, and value each other equally. Women are primarily gatherers and men are hunters, but both gathering and hunting are valued equally. Hunters do not enjoy additional benefits, power, or prestige. Sexual egalitarianism means that not only men, but also women, enjoy economic independence; to have a voice in the decision-making of their social group; to have control over their sexual and reproductive bodies; and enjoy equal decision in marriage and divorce. The gender of each sex is celebrated, affirming their autonomy, but also their interdependence.

Dasa Bombjaková says: "When women sit next to each other, their shoulders or legs touch, or they sit together facing each other. When I arrived at the field, I remember that, at first, I felt almost uncomfortable that women that I didn't know had such frequent contact with me and sat so close to me. However, it made me realize how this can accelerate the bonding and "natural" feeling in the company of other practically stranger women.

According to my observation, even when They met other Mbendjele women for the first time, they automatically sat very close to each other and, if the men were not present, they exchanged quite intimate information, such as: "My husband is rubbish, what is yours like?" .

The husband does not even need to know about the woman's first month of pregnancy, as these topics are often discussed without the men being present, in women's groups. Furthermore, in the case where the pregnancy is aborted, it does not have a detrimental impact on the women's mental health. The belief is that the next time, the same child will be born.

They also believe that it is better to resolve conflicts through laughter rather than open criticism, disputes or fights.