World of the Aka

The Aka use a set standard on values of each person in the tribe.  Everyone has some sort of job within the community that benefits the tribe as a whole.  Aka society is acephalous and highly egalitarian.  During the dry season, when camps are closer together, communal net-hunts are arranged, and several camps will join together.  Men, women, and children may participate, one group acting as the “beaters” flushing game out of the bush toward the surrounding hunting nets where a second group of participants waits with spears ready.The majority of work done by the men is hunting, sometimes these hunting parties can be gone for days tracking animals on a hunt.  The women of the tribe will also be involved in the hunt sometimes, but they also gather many fruits and nuts off the trees in their habitat.  Gathering activities also vary by season, though many fruits, nuts, fungi, and the leaves of Gnetum africanum are gathered opportunistically, as are forest snails and tortoises.  The men also serve as the primary educators of the children and will take them almost everywhere they go.  There is a understanding that the children need to know what they can obtain from the forest at an early age, as well as to be able to understand what they can and cannot eat.  The advancement of technology in the area has called for the Aka to come out of the forest and work traditional crop fields, something the Aka are not accustomed to.  Since colonial times, Aka have started to travel outside of their communities and work in small rural villages and towns, usually on farms.  This allows for little income and many Aka see it as a obstacle in their daily lives.  The Aka want to stay connected to their traditional past.