|
Tribe Snapshots Punu |
| Location: |
Southern Gabon,
Congo |
| Population: |
40,000 |
| Language: |
Punu (Bantu) |
| Neighboring
Peoples: |
Ashira, Mpongwe, Lumbo, Kota, Fang, Kongo |
| Types
of Art: |
The most common types of objects found are carved
masks, which have been stylistically compared
to Japanese art. They also carve standing reliquary
figures, which watch over the bones of the deceased.
|
| History: |
Although not much is known about the history
of the Punu, linguistic evidence suggests that
they moved into their current location from an
area to the north, possibly driven southward by
the Kota and Fang who moved into the area just
north of Punu territory in recent centuries. This
area had been occupied by various Pygmy peoples
prior to Bantu expansion. Punu art forms suggest
a connection with their neighbors that may have
emerged from a shared history or simply through
contact. |
| Economy: |
Punu economy is based on shifting hoe farming
conducted in fields that have been carved out
of the rain forests through slash and burn techniques.
This is supplemented when necessary with hunting,
fishing, and livestock, such as goats, sheep,
and chickens. The surrounding Equatorial forests
also provide various fruits, nuts, and tubers
for consumption. The main crops include banana,
yams, cassava, maize, peanuts, and manioc. Most
labor is divided between the sexes, with men doing
most of the hunting, gathering and clearing of
land and women doing the other agricultural tasks. |
| Political
Systems: |
The Punu live in small villages in the Ogowe
River Basin that each include several lineages
and are led by a individuals within the community
who have inherited their position matrilinearly,
rather than by a centralized force. |
| Religion: |
There is very little known about the Punu religion,
but similarly to their neighbors to the north,
the Fang and Kota, the Punu carve wooden reliquary
figures which are stylistically different, but
similarly attached to a basket carrying the bones
of individual family ancestors. This seems to
indicate a similarity in religious practices in
regard to ancestor worship. There is also an abundance
of female masks in this area. Several reports
from early travelers in this area link those masks
to the Mukui society, about which very little
is known. Other reports link them to dances celebrating
the female ancestors of the Punu peoples. |
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