PYGMIES (Lat. Pyymwas. from Gk. Tle-,12a7os, Pilgmaios, pygmy, dwarf, of the length from the elbow to the knuckles, from 7ru-/A7), pyyno'. meas ure from the elbow to the knuckle,. list; connect ed with Lat. pit yn us, ti,t ) . A dwarf negroid population of equatorial Africa acro,s the eon tumid from Uganda to the Gahm', including Akkas, or Tiki-Tiki, Afifi, Wambutti, Batwa, and Obongo. They are under live feet in stature. brown in color, and are not to be confounded with the Bushmen. The present habitat of the pygmies is the inter-tropical forest zone, between six degrees north and south of the equator. where they exist in small groups. though formerly had a more extensive range toward the north. 1?4•Inains of Neolithic dwarfs have been found at the Schweizersbild Station in Switzerland, hut they differ in cranial feature- from the African pygmies. Beside, the African pygmies there are dwarf race, in the Malay Peninsula. Mangan tribe), and in islands in Micronesia and Melanesia. In the Philippines are interest
ing pygmies (see _ETA), who scarcely differ in appearance from those of Africa, but are some what taller. The pygmies have, as a rule, shapely bodies, and small hands and feet. They have woolly hair, dark skin, small oval eyes, high cheek bones, broad foreheads. and thick lips. The mean stature of some of the tribes is four feet three inches. They are retiring and live in the forests, usually under the protection of the taller tribes, whom they serve in various., ways. They are expert hunters, and kill game by stealth with poisoned arrows. In character. so far as known. they show childish trait-. are born mimics, and delight in songs and posture dances.
Consult : Quatrefages, Lrs pygnWes (Paris. 18871: Flower. Pygmy Races of •M Journal the I Lo ndon . ItiS8-811i Keane, Nan: Past and Present f('ambridg,e. 1899) ; Johnston, Uganda (London, 1903).