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101-568: Baka people are all hunter-gatherers, formerly referred to as pygmies, located in the Central African rain forest. Having average heights of 1.52 meters (5 feet) as well as living semi-nomadic lifestyles, the Baka are often discriminated against and marginalized from society. They reside in southeastern Cameroon, northern Gabon and in the northern part of the Republic of Congo. In Congo ,

202-478: A poison is a substance that obstructs or inhibits a nuclear reaction. Environmentally hazardous substances are not necessarily poisons, and vice versa. For example, food-industry wastewater—which may contain potato juice or milk—can be hazardous to the ecosystems of streams and rivers by consuming oxygen and causing eutrophication , but is nonhazardous to humans and not classified as a poison. Biologically speaking, any substance, if given in large enough amounts,

303-601: A Kongolese army of 5,000, was destroyed by an army of Afro-Portuguese at the Battle of Mbwila . The empire dissolved into petty polities, fighting among each other for war captives to sell into slavery. Kongo gained captives from the Kingdom of Ndongo in wars of conquest. Ndongo was ruled by the ngola . Ndongo would also engage in slave trading with the Portuguese, with São Tomé being a transit point to Brazil. The kingdom

404-1234: A bite or sting through a venom apparatus , such as fangs or a stinger , in a process called envenomation , whereas poisons are toxins that are passively delivered by being swallowed, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin. Unantidoteable refers to toxins that cannot be neutralized by modern medical technology, regardless of their type. Industry , agriculture , and other sectors employ many poisonous substances, usually for reasons other than their toxicity to humans. (e.g. feeding chickens arsenic antihelminths ), solvents (e.g. rubbing alcohol, turpentine), cleaners (e.g. bleach, ammonia), coatings (e.g. Arsenic wallpaper), and so on. For example, many poisons are important feedstocks . The toxicity itself sometimes has economic value, when it serves agricultural purposes of weed control and pest control . Most poisonous industrial compounds have associated material safety data sheets and are classified as hazardous substances . Hazardous substances are subject to extensive regulation on production, procurement, and use in overlapping domains of occupational safety and health , public health , drinking water quality standards , air pollution , and environmental protection . Due to

505-441: A broad sense. Whether something is considered a poison or not may depend on the amount, the circumstances, and what living things are present. Poisoning could be accidental or deliberate, and if the cause can be identified there may be ways to neutralise the effects or minimise the symptoms . In biology , a poison is a chemical substance causing death , injury or harm to organisms or their parts. In medicine , poisons are

606-453: A chemical defense developed by Theobroma cacao can be incidentally fatal nevertheless. Many omnivores, including humans, readily consume edible fungi , and thus many fungi have evolved to become decisively inedible , in this case as a direct defense. Chronic poisoning is long-term repeated or continuous exposure to a poison where symptoms do not occur immediately or after each exposure. The person gradually becomes ill, or becomes ill after

707-472: A fee to use this area. The governments only enforced rules and regulations to a limited extent. Local governments and traditional authorities are increasingly engaged in rent-seeking , collecting license fees with the help of the police or army. Oil is also a major export of the countries of northern and eastern Central Africa, notably making up a large proportion of the GDPs of Chad and South Sudan. Following

808-620: A kind of toxin that are delivered passively, not actively. In industry the term may be negative, something to be removed to make a thing safe, or positive, an agent to limit unwanted pests . In ecological terms , poisons introduced into the environment can later cause unwanted effects elsewhere, or in other parts of the food chain . In broad metaphorical (colloquial) usage of the term, "poison" may refer to anything deemed harmful. In biology , poisons are substances that can cause death , injury, or harm to organs , tissues , cells , and DNA usually by chemical reactions or other activity on

909-926: A long latent period. Chronic poisoning most commonly occurs following exposure to poisons that bioaccumulate , or are biomagnified , such as mercury , gadolinium , and lead . In 2010, poisoning resulted in about 180,000 deaths down from 200,000 in 1990. There were approximately 727,500 emergency department visits in the United States involving poisonings—3.3% of all injury-related encounters. Poisonous compounds may be useful either for their toxicity, or, more often, because of another chemical property, such as specific chemical reactivity. Poisons are widely used in industry and agriculture, as chemical reagents, solvents or complexing reagents, e.g. carbon monoxide , methanol and sodium cyanide , respectively. They are less common in household use, with occasional exceptions such as ammonia and methanol . For instance, phosgene

1010-440: A minority of Baka society regularly has liquid cash. In recent years, deforestation of the tropical forest has greatly increased. For example, some deforestation projects have been initiated in order to procure palm oil which is heavily found within the confines of the forest. Survival International has recently set up an initiative to help the Baka people survive the extreme deforestation of their homes. Deforestation impacts

1111-473: A non-scientific source claims that Baka comes from a different language family, Ubangian . However, a published anthropological source states that the language is Bantu in affiliation. The oldest reference to "pygmies" dates back to 2276 BCE when Pharaoh Pepi II described seeing a "dancing dwarf of the god from the land of spirits", in a letter to a slave trade expedition leader. In the Iliad , Homer described

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1212-447: A poison as such, but to turn the body's natural defenses against itself. Poison can also enter the body through faulty medical implants , or by injection (which is the basis of lethal injection in the context of capital punishment ). In 2013, 3.3 million cases of unintentional human poisonings occurred. This resulted in 98,000 deaths worldwide, down from 120,000 deaths in 1990. In modern society, cases of suspicious death elicit

1313-451: A primary food source. Selective toxicity, controlled application, and controlled biodegradation are major challenges in herbicide and pesticide development and in chemical engineering generally, as all lifeforms on earth share an underlying biochemistry ; organisms exceptional in their environmental resilience are classified as extremophiles , these for the most part exhibiting radically different susceptibilities. A poison which enters

1414-462: A pulp to treat various illnesses or infertility. These remedies are often used on children, as the areas where they are most used have high child mortality rates. While the efficacy of these remedies has not been proven, this traditional medicine is so renowned that even non-Baka seek out their healers for treatment. Many Baka people have had ebola but none have been reported to have displayed any symptoms. In socio-economic and political spheres,

1515-479: A target for discrimination and bullying. Furthermore, Baka children may not feel at ease when attending school due to language barriers, as the only languages accepted within these schools are French and Bantu languages. Kamei also describes economic barriers to Baka children's school attendance; while schools are public, there are still costs associated with attendance (such as textbooks and school uniforms), and Baka parents are often unable to afford these costs, as only

1616-595: A variety of natural or synthetic substances. Substances that destroy tissue but do not absorb, such as lye , are classified as corrosives rather than poisons. Acute poisoning is exposure to a poison on one occasion or during a short period of time. Symptoms develop in close relation to the exposure. Absorption of a poison is necessary for systemic poisoning. Furthermore, many common household medications are not labeled with skull and crossbones, although they can cause severe illness or even death. Poisoning can be caused by excessive consumption of generally safe substances, as in

1717-676: Is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Middle Africa is an analogous term used by the United Nations in its geoscheme for Africa and consists of the following countries: Angola , Cameroon , Central African Republic , Chad , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Republic of the Congo , Equatorial Guinea , Gabon , and São Tomé and Príncipe . The United Nations Office for Central Africa also includes Burundi and Rwanda in

1818-691: Is a highly reactive nucleophile acceptor, which makes it an excellent reagent for polymerizing diols and diamines to produce polycarbonate and polyurethane plastics. For this use, millions of tons are produced annually. However, the same reactivity makes it also highly reactive towards proteins in human tissue and thus highly toxic. In fact, phosgene has been used as a chemical weapon . It can be contrasted with mustard gas , which has only been produced for chemical weapons uses, as it has no particular industrial use. Biocides need not be poisonous to humans, because they can target metabolic pathways absent in humans, leaving only incidental toxicity. For instance,

1919-641: Is also distinct from toxicity itself. For instance, the preservative thiomersal used in vaccines is toxic, but the quantity administered in a single shot is negligible. Throughout human history, intentional application of poison has been used as a method of murder , pest-control , suicide , and execution . As a method of execution, poison has been ingested, as the ancient Athenians did (see Socrates ), inhaled, as with carbon monoxide or hydrogen cyanide (see gas chamber ), injected (see lethal injection ), or even as an enema . Poison's lethal effect can be combined with its allegedly magical powers; an example

2020-400: Is any poison produced by an organism, such as the bacterial proteins that cause tetanus and botulism . A distinction between the two terms is not always observed, even among scientists. The derivative forms "toxic" and "poisonous" are synonymous. Animal poisons delivered subcutaneously (e.g., by sting or bite ) are also called venom . In normal usage, a poisonous organism is one that

2121-527: Is chemically converted to toxic formaldehyde and formic acid in the liver . Many drug molecules are made toxic in the liver, and the genetic variability of certain liver enzymes makes the toxicity of many compounds differ between individuals. Exposure to radioactive substances can produce radiation poisoning , an unrelated phenomenon. Two common cases of acute natural poisoning are theobromine poisoning of dogs and cats , and mushroom poisoning in humans. Dogs and cats are not natural herbivores, but

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2222-601: Is depressed enough, without exhibiting one of us with the apes," Mr. Gordon said. "We think we are worthy of being considered human beings, with souls." The Baka people are considered the principal hunter-gatherers of the tropical rainforest of Central West Africa. However, no group has been shown to subsist entirely on foraging. Groups establish temporary camps of huts constructed of bowed branches covered in large leaves (though today more and more homes are constructed following other methods, such as mud and mud brick). The Baka hunt and gather their own food. The men hunt and trap in

2323-666: Is evidence of iron smelting in the Central African Republic that may date back to 3000 to 2500 BCE. Extensive walled settlements have recently been found in Northeast Nigeria, approximately 60 km (37 mi) southwest of Lake Chad dating to the first millennium BCE. Trade and improved agricultural techniques supported more sophisticated societies, leading to the early civilizations of West Africa: Sao , Kanem , Bornu , Shilluk , Baguirmi , and Wadai . Around 2500 BCE, Bantu migrants had reached

2424-411: Is harmful to consume, but a venomous organism uses venom to kill its prey or defend itself while still alive. A single organism can be both poisonous and venomous, but it is rare. All living things produce substances to protect them from getting eaten, so the term "poison" is usually only used for substances which are poisonous to humans, while substances that mainly are poisonous to a common pathogen to

2525-637: Is now the country of Chad. Baguirmi emerged to the southeast of the Kanem–Bornu Empire . The kingdom's first ruler was Mbang Birni Besse. Later in his reign, the Bornu Empire conquered and made the state a tributary. The Wadai Empire was centered in Chad from the 17th century. The Tunjur people founded the Wadai Kingdom to the east of Bornu in the 16th century. In the 17th century, there

2626-475: Is poisonous and can cause death. For instance, several kilograms worth of water would constitute a lethal dose . Many substances used as medications—such as fentanyl —have an LD 50 only one order of magnitude greater than the ED50 . An alternative classification distinguishes between lethal substances that provide a therapeutic value and those that do not. Poisoning can be either acute or chronic, and caused by

2727-464: Is possible only in the southern belt. Slash-and-burn agriculture is a common practice. Flood recession agriculture is practiced around Lake Chad and in the riverine wetlands. Nomadic herders migrate with their animals into the grasslands of the northern part of the basin for a few weeks during each short rainy season, where they intensively graze the highly nutritious grasses. When the dry season starts they move back south, either to grazing lands around

2828-501: Is required to pray to Jengi and dance around the debris covered corpse for an entire night. The dance performed during the death rituals is called the Mbouamboua. After a long night of dancing, the villagers depart from where they were stationed, leaving the corpse behind, and set out to move somewhere else in order to flee the curse. Traditional Baka medicine mainly involves herbal remedies. Various plants may be brewed or mashed into

2929-639: Is still extremely controversial in the early 21st century, as evidenced by a New York Times article about Ota published in 2006, which described this episode as "a perfect illustration of the racism that pervaded New York at the time." According to the Times , black clergyman and superintendent of the Howard Colored Orphan Asylum in Brooklyn, Reverend James H. Gordon, deemed the exhibit to be racist and demeaning. "Our race, we think,

3030-526: Is the Chinese gu poison . Poison was also employed in gunpowder warfare . For example, the 14th-century Chinese text of the Huolongjing written by Jiao Yu outlined the use of a poisonous gunpowder mixture to fill cast iron grenade bombs. While arsenic is a naturally occurring environmental poison, its artificial concentrate was once nicknamed inheritance powder . In Medieval Europe, it

3131-414: Is their toxicity to various insects and other animals deemed to be pests (e.g., rats and cockroaches ). Natural pesticides have been used for this purpose for thousands of years (e.g. concentrated table salt is toxic to many slugs and snails ). Bioaccumulation of chemically-prepared agricultural insecticides is a matter of concern for the many species, especially birds , which consume insects as

Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3232-828: The Bantu Migration , Central Africa is primarily inhabited by Native African or Bantu peoples and Bantu languages predominate. These include the Mongo , Kongo and Luba peoples. Central Africa also includes many Nilo-Saharan and Niger-Congo Ubangian communities: in north western Central Africa the Nilo-Saharan Kanuri predominate. Most of the Ubangian speakers in Africa (often grouped with Niger-Congo) are also found in Central Africa, such as

3333-579: The Central African CFA franc . The African Development Bank , on the other hand, defines Central Africa as seven countries: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon. The Central African Federation (1953–1963), also called the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland , was made up of what are now the nations of Malawi , Zambia , and Zimbabwe . Similarly,

3434-700: The Congo Crisis (1960–1965) which ended with the installment of Joseph Mobutu as president and renamed the country Zaire in 1971. Equatorial Guinea gained independence from Spain in 1968, leading to the election of Francisco Macías Nguema , now widely regarded as one of the most brutal dictators in history. In 1961, Angola became involved in the Portuguese Colonial War , a 13-year-long struggle for independence in Lusophone Africa . It gained independence only in 1975, following

3535-800: The Gbaya , Banda and Zande , in northern Central Africa. Notable Central African supra-regional organizations include the Lake Chad Basin Commission and the Economic Community of Central African States . The predominant religions of Central Africa are Christianity and traditional faiths . Islam is also practiced in some areas in Chad and the Central African Republic . Due to common historical processes and widespread demographic movements between

3636-478: The Kingdom of Kongo under a ruler called the manikongo , residing in the fertile Pool Malebo area on the lower Congo River . The capital was M'banza-Kongo . With superior organization, they were able to conquer their neighbors and extract tribute. They were experts in metalwork, pottery, and weaving raffia cloth. They stimulated interregional trade via a tribute system controlled by the manikongo . Later, maize (corn) and cassava (manioc) would be introduced to

3737-523: The enzymes in mitochondria that make ATP . Intravenous injection of an unnaturally high concentration of potassium chloride , such as in the execution of prisoners in parts of the United States, quickly stops the heart by eliminating the cell potential necessary for muscle contraction . Most biocides, including pesticides , are created to act as acute poisons to target organisms, although acute or less observable chronic poisoning can also occur in non-target organisms ( secondary poisoning ), including

3838-488: The food chain —whether of industrial, agricultural, or natural origin—might not be immediately toxic to the first organism that ingests the toxin, but can become further concentrated in predatory organisms further up the food chain, particularly carnivores and omnivores , especially concerning fat soluble poisons which tend to become stored in biological tissue rather than excreted in urine or other water-based effluents . Apart from food, many poisons readily enter

3939-422: The humans who apply the biocides and other beneficial organisms . For example, the herbicide 2,4-D imitates the action of a plant hormone, which makes its lethal toxicity specific to plants. Indeed, 2,4-D is not a poison, but classified as "harmful" (EU). Many substances regarded as poisons are toxic only indirectly, by toxication . An example is "wood alcohol" or methanol , which is not poisonous itself, but

4040-514: The manikongo . In 1506, Afonso I (1506–1542), a Christian, took over the throne. Slave trading increased with Afonso's wars of conquest. About 1568 to 1569, the Jaga invaded Kongo, laying waste to the kingdom and forcing the manikongo into exile. In 1574, Manikongo Álvaro I was reinstated with the help of Portuguese mercenaries. During the latter part of the 1660s, the Portuguese tried to gain control of Kongo. Manikongo António I (1661–1665), with

4141-446: The molecular scale, when an organism is exposed to a sufficient quantity. Medicinal fields (particularly veterinary medicine ) and zoology often distinguish poisons from toxins and venoms . Both poisons and venoms are toxins, which are toxicants produced by organisms in nature. The difference between venom and poison is the delivery method of the toxin. Venoms are toxins that are actively delivered by being injected via

Baka people (Cameroon and Gabon) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4242-611: The placenta during gestation, or through breast milk during nursing . In contrast, radiological damage can be passed from mother or father to offspring through genetic mutation , which—if not fatal in miscarriage or childhood , or a direct cause of infertility —can then be passed along again to a subsequent generation. Atmospheric radon is a natural radiological poison of increasing impact since humans moved from hunter-gatherer lifestyles and cave dwelling to increasingly enclosed structures able to contain radon in dangerous concentrations. The 2006 poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko

4343-495: The "pygmies" as dark-skinned men who had to engage in annual warfare against cranes on the banks of the world-encircling river Oceanus . Contemporary Greek sources describe them as being as tall as a "pygme", meaning that they measured the length of an elbow to a knuckle, or about one and a half feet long. About three centuries later in 500 BCE, the Greek Herodotus reported that an explorer had seen, while travelling along

4444-435: The 18th century. The term " poison ivy ", for example, was first used in 1784 and the term " poison oak " was first used in 1743. The term " poison gas " was first used in 1915. The term "poison" is often used colloquially to describe any harmful substance—particularly corrosive substances, carcinogens , mutagens , teratogens and harmful pollutants , and to exaggerate the dangers of chemicals. Paracelsus (1493–1541),

4545-754: The 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon . São Tomé and Príncipe also gained independence in 1975 in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution. In 2011, South Sudan gained its independence from the Republic of Sudan after over 50 years of war . In the 21st century, many jihadist and Islamist groups began to operate in the Central African region, including the Seleka and the Ansaru . Over

4646-880: The Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa covers dioceses in Botswana , Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, while the Church of Central Africa, Presbyterian has synods in Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. These states are now typically considered part of East or Southern Africa . The Congo River basin has historically been ecologically significant to the populations of Central Africa, serving as an important supra-regional organization in Central Africa. Archeological finds in Central Africa have been made which date back over 100,000 years. According to Zagato and Holl, there

4747-519: The Baka lifestyle during class time. This initiative helped lessen the cultural gap between the Baka and the Bantu. In 1998, the Jengi Project, a conservation project, was initiated in order to protect three important regions of the forest: Lobeke , Boumba (also Bek) and Nki . Project leaders set up measures in order to attain their goal of conserving the richness, in species and in foliage, of

4848-486: The Baka people are not seen as equal to the Bantu villagers. The Baka rely on the farmers for trade opportunities. They exchange some of their primary goods (fruits, wild nuts, medicinal plants etc.) for money and industrial goods. The farmers are the Baka’s only connection to the modern Cameroonian or Gabonese bureaucracies . Because of this, the Baka often work as indentured servants to the farmers. The Baka thus follow most of

4949-570: The Baka people are otherwise known as the Bayaka. Some Baka are also found in southwestern Central African Republic. Although the Baka people are located throughout the Central African rain forest, they are mainly concentrated in Cameroon as the Baka community of Cameroon represents roughly 30 000 individuals. The Baka are a semi-nomadic people, like other hunter-gatherers such as the Bagyeli and

5050-423: The Baka significantly, as the forest is their home. Anthropologist Shiho Hattori recorded about 100 instruments that the Baka use daily for cooking, hunting and gathering, rituals, and so on. Out of these 100 utensils, Hattori reports that 40 (or about two-fifths) of these utensils were made "partly or entirely out of natural resources " found in the forest. These deforestation projects can be extremely detrimental to

5151-455: The Baka worship Jengi with songs of thanksgiving and dancing in a ritual called Luma. These rituals are necessary for Jengi to appear before the Baka, as they believe that he only shows himself when harmony reigns among the villagers. Jengi also appears during the important ceremony, Jengi, where a young man goes from being a boy to a man. During these ceremonies, young Baka men volunteer to be initiated by Jengi. Once they are initiated, they have

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5252-644: The Baka, as they destroy the environment on which they so heavily rely for subsistence , as well as for their economic standing in face of Bantu farming communities. The Catholic missionary group Frères des Ecoles Chrétiennes (FEC) set up an initiative to support Baka youth entering the formal education system through the creation of the Mapala School in 1992. The FEC encouraged Baka teachers to teach in both French and Baka languages. Parents were also able to pay lower tuition 500 FC (or about one US dollar), and their children were able to learn skills relevant to

5353-660: The Bornu empire had expanded and recaptured the parts of Kanem that had been conquered by the Bulala. Satellite states of Bornu included the Damagaram in the west and Baguirmi to the southeast of Lake Chad. The Shilluk Kingdom was centered in South Sudan from the 15th century from along a strip of land along the western bank of White Nile, from Lake No to about 12° north latitude . The capital and royal residence were in

5454-590: The British and French concluded an agreement to clarify the boundary between French West Africa and what would become Nigeria . A boundary was agreed along a line from Say on the Niger to Barruwa on Lake Chad , but leaving the Sokoto Caliphate in the British sphere. Parfait-Louis Monteil was given charge of an expedition to discover where this line actually ran. On 9 April 1892 he reached Kukawa on

5555-478: The English term comes from the "...Old French poison, puison (12c., Modern French poison) "a drink", especially a medical drink, later "a (magic) potion, poisonous drink" (14c.), from Latin potionem (nominative potio) "a drinking, a drink", also "poisonous drink" (Cicero), from potare "to drink". The use of "poison" as an adjective ("poisonous") dates from the 1520s. Using the word "poison" with plant names dates from

5656-586: The German traveler Heinrich Barth . Kanem rose in the 8th century in the region to the north and east of Lake Chad. The Kanem empire went into decline, shrank, and in the 14th century was defeated by Bilala invaders from the Lake Fitri region. The Kanuri people of West Africa led by the Sayfuwa migrated to the west and south of the lake, where they established the Bornu Empire . By the late 16th century

5757-536: The Great Lakes Region in Central Africa. Halfway through the first millennium BCE, the Bantu had also settled as far south as what is now Angola . The West African Sao civilization flourished from ca. the 6th century BCE to as late as the 16th century CE in northern Central Africa. The Sao lived by the Chari River south of Lake Chad in territory that later became part of Cameroon and Chad. They are

5858-543: The Lunda. The Imbangala of inland Angola claimed descent from a founder, Kinguri, brother of Queen Rweej, who could not tolerate the rule of mulopwe Tshibunda. Kinguri became the title of kings of states founded by Queen Rweej's brother. The Luena (Lwena) and Lozi (Luyani) in Zambia also claim descent from Kinguri. During the 17th century, a Lunda chief and warrior called Mwata Kazembe set up an Eastern Lunda kingdom in

5959-636: The Twa. However, due to the intensive deforestation of the Central African Rainforest they are gradually becoming more sedentary. Pressures from their taller and more dominant neighbors, the Bantu , have also limited the Baka people’s ability to live their traditional lifestyle. The Baka have successfully maintained their language, also called Baka . Although their neighbors’ languages ( Koozime , Bakoum and Bangandou) which have Bantu roots,

6060-735: The West African Coast, "dwarfish people, who used clothing made from the palm tree". In 1995, Joan Mark wrote The King of the World in the Land of the Pygmies , an interpretive biography of Patrick Tracy Lowell Putnam, the anthropologist who spent 25 years living among the Bambuti people in Zaire . Mark writes that Aristotle , in 340 BCE was the first to relate, in his Historia Animalium ,

6161-520: The attention of the Coroner 's office and forensic investigators . Of increasing concern since the isolation of natural radium by Marie and Pierre Curie in 1898—and the subsequent advent of nuclear physics and nuclear technologies—are radiological poisons . These are associated with ionizing radiation , a mode of toxicity quite distinct from chemically active poisons. In mammals , chemical poisons are often passed from mother to offspring through

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6262-424: The body through the skin and lungs . Hydrofluoric acid is a notorious contact poison, in addition to its corrosive damage. Naturally occurring sour gas is a fast-acting atmospheric poison, which can be released by volcanic activity or drilling rigs . Plant-based contact irritants, such as that possessed by poison ivy , are often classed as allergens rather than poisons; the effect of an allergen being not

6363-410: The case of water intoxication . Agents that act on the nervous system can paralyze in seconds or less, and include both biologically derived neurotoxins and so-called nerve gases , which may be synthesized for warfare or industry. Inhaled or ingested cyanide , used as a method of execution in gas chambers , or as a suicide method , almost instantly starves the body of energy by inhibiting

6464-604: The coast as trade dealers, not venturing on conquest of the interior. Slavery wreaked havoc in the interior, with states initiating wars of conquest for captives. The Imbangala formed the slave-raiding state of Kasanje , a major source of slaves during the 17th and 18th centuries. During the Conference of Berlin in 1884–85 Africa was divided up between the European colonial powers, defining boundaries that are largely intact with today's post-colonial states. On 5 August 1890

6565-407: The colonial administrative boundaries. Chad , Gabon , the Republic of the Congo , and the Central African Republic became autonomous states with the dissolution of French Equatorial Africa in 1958, gaining full independence in 1960. The Democratic Republic of the Congo also gained independence from Belgium in 1960, but quickly devolved into a period of political upheaval and conflict known as

6666-557: The countries of Central Africa before the Bantu Migration into much of southern Central Africa, the cultures of the region evidence many similarities and interrelationships. Similar cultural practices stemming from common origins as largely Nilo-Saharan or Bantu peoples are also evident in Central Africa including in music, dance, art, body adornment, initiation, and marriage rituals. Some major Native African ethnic groups in Central Africa are as follows: Further information in

6767-452: The course of the 2010s, the internationally unrecognized secessionist state called Ambazonia gained increasing momentum in its home regions, resulting in the ongoing Anglophone Crisis in Cameroon. The main economic activities of Central Africa are farming, herding and fishing. At least 40% of the rural population of northern and eastern Central Africa lives in poverty and routinely face chronic food shortages. Crop production based on rain

6868-739: The earliest people to have left clear traces of their presence in the territory of modern Cameroon . Today, several ethnic groups of northern Cameroon and southern Chad but particularly the Sara people claim descent from the civilization of the Sao. Sao artifacts show that they were skilled workers in bronze , copper, and iron. Finds include bronze sculptures and terra cotta statues of human and animal figures, coins, funerary urns, household utensils, jewelry, highly decorated pottery, and spears. The largest Sao archaeological finds have been made south of Lake Chad. The West-Central African kingdom of Kanem–Bornu Empire

6969-413: The farmers’ orders. This unbalanced relationship often causes tensions between the two groups. These inequalities are perpetuated by the fact that some of the villagers speak French (the national language of Cameroon and Gabon) but none of the Baka do. The Baka People form an acephalous society, one in which there are no political leaders or hierarchies. This makes it difficult for the Baka to assimilate to

7070-470: The father of toxicology , once wrote: "Everything is poison, there is poison in everything. Only the dose makes a thing not a poison " (see median lethal dose ). The term "poison" is also used in a figurative sense: "His brother's presence poisoned the atmosphere at the party". The law defines "poison" more strictly. Substances not legally required to carry the label "poison" can also cause a medical condition of poisoning. Some poisons are also toxins, which

7171-534: The first modern account of the existence of such people. In his book, In Darkest Africa , Stanley described meeting a "pygmy" couple. Stanley writes of them: "In him was a mimicked dignity, as of Adam ; in her the womanliness of a miniature Eve ". In 1906, a Congolese "pygmy" named Ota Benga was exhibited among apes at the Bronx Zoo in New York City . Ota was 4 feet and 11 inches tall. This episode

7272-434: The herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid is a mimic of a plant growth hormone, which causes uncontrollable growth leading to the death of the plant. Humans and animals, lacking this hormone and its receptor, are unaffected by this, and need to ingest relatively large doses before any toxicity appears. Human toxicity is, however, hard to avoid with pesticides targeting mammals, such as rodenticides . The risk from toxicity

7373-482: The infants while they fish. Women cultivate plants, such as plantains, cassavas and bananas, and practice beekeeping . The group remains in one area until it is hunted out. It then abandons the camp and settles down in a different portion of the forest. The group is communal and makes decisions by consensus . During the dry season, it is common for the Baka to move and set camp within the forest in order to facilitate fishing and overall nutritional gathering. The Baka are

7474-421: The kingdom. His son Naweej expanded the empire further and is known as the first Lunda emperor, with the title Mwata Yamvo ( mwaant yaav , mwant yav ), the "Lord of Vipers". The Luba political system was retained, and conquered peoples were integrated into the system. The mwata yamvo assigned a cilool or kilolo (royal adviser) and tax collector to each state conquered. Numerous states claimed descent from

7575-480: The lakes and floodplains, or to the savannas further to the south. In the 2000–01 period, fisheries in the Lake Chad basin provided food and income to more than 10 million people, with a harvest of about 70,000 tons. Fisheries have traditionally been managed by a system where each village has recognized rights over a defined part of the river, wetland or lake, and fishers from elsewhere must seek permission and pay

7676-557: The mechanics of molecular diffusion , many poisonous compounds rapidly diffuse into biological tissues , air, water, or soil on a molecular scale. By the principle of entropy , chemical contamination is typically costly or infeasible to reverse, unless specific chelating agents or micro-filtration processes are available. Chelating agents are often broader in scope than the acute target, and therefore their ingestion necessitates careful medical or veterinarian supervision. Pesticides are one group of substances whose prime purpose

7777-414: The most active during these dry seasons. Men hunt from dawn until dusk and the women gather two types of fruits: the "mabe" and the "peke", which are used for the provision of juice and nuts. The Baka people continue to monitor bee activity in order to obtain honey or "poki". The Baka worship the forest spirit called Jengi (also known as Djengui or Ejengi). The spirit plays the role of the mediator between

7878-415: The organism and humans are considered antibiotics . Bacteria are for example a common adversary for Penicillium chrysogenum mold and humans, and since the mold's poison only targets bacteria, humans use it for getting rid of it in their bodies. Human antimicrobial peptides which are toxic to viruses, fungi, bacteria, and cancerous cells are considered a part of the immune system. In nuclear physics ,

7979-515: The political landscapes of Gabon and Cameroon. According to anthropologist Alec Leonhardt, the Baka people are deprived of their human rights; Leonhardt explains that the fight for Baka rights is not on Cameroon and Gabon's political agendas and neither is it on the "policy agenda" of the UN, despite their drafting of a Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples , a document whose purpose is to fight for

8080-431: The prior ecology (especially if the prior ecology was associated with human economic value or an established industry such as shellfish harvesting). The scientific disciplines of ecology and environmental resource management study the environmental life cycle of toxic compounds and their complex, diffuse, and highly interrelated effects. The word "poison" was first used in 1200 to mean "a deadly potion or substance";

8181-414: The project. The farmers, on the other hand, seemed to be very intent on doing their part to support the effort. Anthropologist Hittori, suspects that the Baka may have been indifferent to the project as they believed that this was simply another way for the farmers to increase their dominance over them. Other Pygmy groups: Researchers who studied Pygmy culture: Central Africa Central Africa

8282-523: The region via trade with the Portuguese at their ports at Luanda and Benguela . The maize and cassava would result in population growth in the region and other parts of Africa, replacing millet as the main staple. By the 16th century, the manikongo held authority from the Atlantic in the west to the Kwango River in the east. Each territory was assigned a mani-mpembe (provincial governor) by

8383-511: The region, which are considered part of East Africa in the geoscheme. These eleven countries are members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Six of those countries (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and Republic of the Congo) are also members of the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC) and share a common currency,

8484-471: The right to live and walk freely within the sacred forest. This secret ceremony was studied by anthropologist, Mauro Campagnoli, who claims having been able to partake. Journalist Paul Raffaele describes his experience with Jengi: "Emerging from the shadows were half a dozen Baka men accompanying a creature swathed from top to bottom in strips of russet-hued raffia . It had no features, no limbs, no face. "It's Ejengi," said Wasse, his voice trembling. At first I

8585-492: The rights of indigenous peoples throughout the world. Being hunter-gatherers as opposed to farmers, and semi-nomadic, the Baka are challenged when education is concerned. Because the Baka are an ethnic minority in both Cameroon and Gabon, they are often either excluded from their respective school systems or forced to forgo their culture and assimilate to a Bantu-normative way of life. Formal schooling for Baka youth can often be difficult for them to handle because it conflicts with

8686-412: The sections of Architecture of Africa : Further information in the sections of History of science and technology in Africa : Poison A poison is any chemical substance that is harmful or lethal to living organisms . The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with

8787-576: The semi-nomadic Baka traditional lifestyle. According to anthropologist Kamei Nabutaka, although there are public schools for all children, the Baka often choose not to attend because formal classroom education is generally not a central part of Baka culture. Secondly, she explains that the Baka choose not to attend school due to their physical distance from these schools, as most of the formal schools are built outside of Baka settlements. The Baka also tend to feel uncomfortable in these public schools, as their physical difference from Bantu schoolmates makes them

8888-707: The shore of the lake. Over the next twenty years a large part of the Chad Basin was incorporated by treaty or by force into French West Africa . On 2 June 1909, the Wadai capital of Abéché was occupied by the French. The remainder of the basin was divided by the British in Nigeria, who took Kano in 1903, and the Germans in Cameroon. The countries of the basin regained their independence between 1956 and 1962, retaining

8989-578: The small men Homer accounted for in the Iliad , to those seen previously on the African coast. He goes on to explain that, due to the chasm that existed between Europe and Africa after the collapse of the Roman Empire , most Europeans living in the 18th century believed "pygmies" to be creatures of myth. In 1890, the Welsh journalist Henry Stanley gave, according to anthropologist Paul Raffaele,

9090-452: The supreme being, Komba, and the Baka people. The Baka thus compare Jengi to a protecting father or guardian. They strongly believe and revere Jengi as they believe that he is the only way to Komba. The Baka people believe Jengi to be omnipresent within the forest allowing him to punish transgressors within the confines of the forest. Ultimately, the Baka worship nature as it is Komba, not Jengi, that resides in it. After hunting successfully,

9191-404: The surface and easily collected by Baka men. Another method of fishing, performed generally only by women, is dam fishing, in which water is removed from a dammed area and fish are taken from the exposed ground. Children and adolescent-girls often accompany the women when they go fish-bailing in nearby streams. More than only fishing with adults, their job is also to help the women by watching over

9292-463: The surrounding forest, using poisoned arrows and spears to great effect. The men also welcome the help of dogs when going on hunting excursions. Fishing is very important in Baka culture as young boys are taught to use fishing rods at a young age. The men fish using chemicals obtained from crushed plant material. Using fast-moving river water, they disperse the chemical downstream. This non-toxic chemical deprives fish of oxygen, making them float to

9393-644: The town of Fashoda . The kingdom was founded during the mid-15th century CE by its first ruler, Nyikang . During the 19th century, the Shilluk Kingdom faced decline following military assaults from the Ottoman Empire and later British and Sudanese colonization in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan . The Kingdom of Baguirmi existed as an independent state during the 16th and 17th centuries southeast of West-Central Africa Lake Chad region in what

9494-406: The tropical forest. One of these measures, for example, was an increase of hunting regulations within the forest. These leaders attempted to get the Baka on board with the project as these new regulations would not only help them preserve their natural habitat but would also affect their living tendencies. The concerned Baka group, however, was not very responsive and did not seem to want to partake in

9595-621: The valley of the Luapula River . The Lunda's western expansion also saw claims of descent by the Yaka and the Pende . The Lunda linked Central Africa with the western coast trade. The kingdom of Lunda came to an end in the 19th century when it was invaded by the Chokwe , who were armed with guns. By the 15th century CE, the farming Bakongo people ( ba being the plural prefix) were unified as

9696-437: Was a notable use of radiological assassination, presumably meant to evade the normal investigation of chemical poisons. Poisons widely dispersed into the environment are known as pollution . These are often of human origin , but pollution can also include unwanted biological processes such as toxic red tide , or acute changes to the natural chemical environment attributed to invasive species , which are toxic or detrimental to

9797-556: Was a revolt of the Maba people who established a Muslim dynasty. At first, Wadai paid tribute to Bornu and Durfur, but by the 18th century, Wadai was fully independent and had become an aggressor against its neighbors. Following the Bantu Migration from Western Africa, Bantu kingdoms and empires began to develop in southern Central Africa. In the 1450s, a Luba from the royal family Ilunga Tshibinda married Lunda queen Rweej and united all Lunda peoples. Their son Mulopwe Luseeng expanded

9898-696: Was centered in the Lake Chad Basin . It was known as the Kanem Empire from the 9th century CE onward and lasted as the independent kingdom of Bornu until 1900. At its height it encompassed an area covering not only much of Chad , but also parts of modern eastern Niger , northeastern Nigeria , northern Cameroon and parts of South Sudan . The history of the Empire is mainly known from the Royal Chronicle or Girgam discovered in 1851 by

9999-600: Was common for monarchs to employ personal food tasters to thwart royal assassination , in the dawning age of the Apothecary . The term poison is also used in a figurative sense. The slang sense of alcoholic drink is first attested 1805, American English (e.g., a bartender might ask a customer "what's your poison?" or "Pick your poison"). Figurative use of the term dates from the late 15th century. Figuratively referring to persons as poison dates from 1910. The figurative term poison-pen letter became well known in 1913 by

10100-513: Was not as welcoming as Kongo; it viewed the Portuguese with great suspicion and as an enemy. The Portuguese in the latter part of the 16th century tried to gain control of Ndongo but were defeated by the Mbundu . Ndongo experienced depopulation from slave raiding. The leaders established another state at Matamba , affiliated with Queen Nzinga , who put up a strong resistance to the Portuguese until coming to terms with them. The Portuguese settled along

10201-412: Was sure it was a Pygmy camouflaged in foliage, but as Ejengi glided across the darkened clearing, the drums beat louder and faster, and as the Pygmies' chanting grew more frenzied, I began to doubt my own eyes." Death is considered to be a misfortune for the Baka. They deem the death of one of their own to be a representation of spiritual discord. Each tribe, having witnessed the death of one of their own,

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