Film Response #3 The Baka

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Chaffey College *

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305

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Anthropology

Date

Oct 30, 2023

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docx

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Aaron Barillas Dr. Erikson ANTH 304-50 3/17/2023 Film Response #3 The Baka Summary: The film, The Baka, follows the indigenous people of the African rainforest and highlights their way of living. This group of people are also commonly known as pygmies, but that word is generally perceived as derogatory by the indigenous people. The film specifically focuses on the Baka people located in Southeast Cameroon and follows a man named Laicano and his family. The film highlights many different ways the Baka people find and forage food in the difficult environment of the African rainforest. The film also shows the numerous uses of plants and herbs that the Baka people have figured out. On top of showing how the Baka people survive in the rainforest, it also shows some of their cultural traditions. Discussion 1: I found it very interesting to see all the different ways that the Baka find food out in the rainforest. For a few month out of the year, Laicano and his family leave the village they established in order to find more food. One source of protein that they gathered from the rainforest is termites. Laicano and his family would use smoke to prevent the termites from escaping underground and then they would snack on them. One of the most impressive things the Baka would do is scale a huge tree in order to reach some honey. The Baka would listen to humming in the night in order to locate the hive and then they would climb the huge tree with no equipment besides some strong vines. The Baka also had a very impressive way of catching fish from the streams and rivers. The Baka would build dams in the river and stop the flow of water, then remove a lot of the water left in order to expose the fish that are trapped. Discussion 2: One fascinating thing about the Baka people is how they used songs and stories to educate their children. Laicano and his family were surrounded around a campfire and they were all singing in unison, and in the gaps of singing Laicano would use that opportunity to teach his children a valuable lesson. I thought it was really cool how well they all sounded together in unison. Another fascinating part in the film is the part when Laicano is teaching his son about the types of termites to eat through the chimps. It made me think why Laicano would use the chimps as an example, and I believe it is because the chimps are some of the best survivors in the rainforest and the perfect example to teach his children Discussion 3: I also found it very interesting to see all the uses that the Baka people have developed from the plants and herbs. One interesting way that the Baka use plants is in fishing. They would make a paste out of the plants that would be poisonous. They then would introduce some of this paste to the water and it would suffocate the fish, making it very easy for them to catch the fish. The Baka people’s knowledge of plants and herbs was so in-depth that people from neighboring villages would visit the Baka to get some help. In the movie there was a woman who had some infertility issues, and she visited a woman from the Baka to get help. They

also developed a paste that was supposed to help woman give birth easier, and the film ended when Laicano’s wife delivered their baby.

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