Aka people

From the Ngandu, they obtain manioc, plantain, yams, taro, maize, cucumbers, squash, okra, papaya, mango, pineapple, palm oil, and rice in exchange for the bushmeat, honey, and other forest products the Aka collect.

As a result of their hunter-gatherer lifestyle, which frequently exposes them to the blood of jungle fauna, they have among the highest rates of seropositivity for Ebola virus in the world.

[6] In the Aka community, despite a sexual division of labor where women primarily serve as caregivers, male and female roles are highly flexible and interchangeable.

[7] While tasks and decision-making were largely shared activities, leadership roles such as kombeti (leader), tuma (elephant hunter), and nganga (top healer) are consistently held by men in a community studied by anthropologist Barry Hewlett.

It is uncommon to find a cot in an Aka camp because it's unheard of for parents to leave their baby unattended; instead, infants are held all the time.

[5] Aka fathers are even known to bring their infants along to social gatherings, such as their equivalent of a pub, with the baby attached to their chest or even nursing from their nipple, while they enjoy palm wine with other men.

From 1910 to 1940, the Aka lands were part of French Equatorial Africa, and nearby affiliated tribes were forced into rubber production by the colonialists.

Many Aka now work in the coffee plantations of neighbouring tribes during the dry season instead of hunting as they would have done, and others have found employment in the ivory and lumber trade.

The 2013 film Song from the Forest tells the story of American Louis Sarno who lived among the Bayaka pygmies in the Central African rainforest for 25 years and travels with his son, 13-year-old Samedi, to New York City.