Bedzan people

The Bedzan people (singular Medzan), also known as the Tikar (not to be confused with the Bantoid Tikar people), are a Pygmy (or perhaps pygmoid) people of Cameroon. The Bedzan community is primarily located in the village of Yoko, on the Tikar Plain, in the Mbam-et-Kim department of Centre Region, and is estimated at between 250[1] and 1,200.[2] They live at the interface of the forest and the savannah, and their language is a dialect of Tikar, which is related to the Bantu languages.

Although not particularly short in stature—at least any longer—the Bedzan are considered Pygmies because of their historical ties to the forest and cultural features such as their music.[3]

References
  1. Hewlett & Fancher (2011) "Central African Hunter-Gatherer Research Traditions". In Cummings, Jordan, & Zvelebil, eds, Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology and Anthropology of Hunter-Gatherers.
  2. Barbier, J.-C. (1978) Les pygmées de la plaine Tikar au Cameroun. Yaoundé.
  3. Bedzan Pygmies From The Tikar Plain, CD, 2000.
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