The Pygmy mimic
Abstract
The Pygmy mimic is an extremely persistent colonial trope that continues to inform contemporary anthropological understandings of Africa’s Pygmy populations. Mimicry is now understood as being a key component of the social reproduction of a distinct Pygmy way of being. In this paper I examine the historical accounts of mimicry and try to bring a historical perspective to bear on contemporary ethnographic accounts of its practice. I also set my own research among the Sua Pygmies of Uganda against these other examples. The intention behind this is to acknowledge the common humanity of Africa’s Pygmies and to create new grounds of comparison - such as a shared history of oppression - that are not dependent on a unique foraging mode of thought.
Citation
Frankland , S 2016 , ' The Pygmy mimic ' , Africa , vol. 86 , no. 3 , pp. 552-570 . https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001972016000371
Publication
Africa
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
0001-9720Type
Journal article
Description
The author thanks the Universities of St Andrews and London, the Economic and Social Research Council, the Horniman and Swan Funds, and also the Carnegie Trust.Collections
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