ABSTRACT
There are at least fifteen Pygmy ethnic groups living in different areas throughout the tropical rainforests of the Congo Basin. The Pygmy population first separated genetically from non-Pygmy populations about 70,000 years ago, and subsequently divided into ancestral Western and Eastern populations around 27,000 years ago. The relations between Pygmies and farmers in the Congo Basin have been among the most studied subjects since the early days of foraging population research. Patron-client relationships still exist among the Koya in Gabon as well, though personal friendships and interethnic marriages with farmers are also common. Pygmy-farmer relations are very complex. Turnbull has described the relationship between the Mbuti and farmers as "a strange one, full of ambivalence and uncertainty." Role differentiation in subsistence activities reinforces Pygmies' connection with the forest, as mentioned in the section on cultural relations, which results in clear cultural divisions between Pygmies and farmers.
