The Gyele (''Bagyele / Bajele''), also known as the Kola (''Bakola'') or Koya (''Bakoya''), are the
pygmies
In anthropology, pygmy peoples are ethnic groups whose average height is unusually short. The term pygmyism is used to describe the phenotype of endemic short stature (as opposed to disproportionate dwarfism occurring in isolated cases in a pop ...
of southern
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
and adjacent areas of
Gabon
Gabon (; ; snq, Ngabu), officially the Gabonese Republic (french: République gabonaise), is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. Located on the equator, it is bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the nort ...
and
Equatorial Guinea. They live among Bantu patrons, the
Mvumbo and
Bassa. They speak a variety of or a language closely related to
Mvumbo.
Ethnically, the Gyele are close to other
Mbenga peoples such as the
Aka and
Baka, but their languages are not close. There are two dialects, ''Jele'' which was closely associated with the Mvumbo, and ''Kola'' (also pronounced ''Koya''), which was closely associated with the Basaa. Other farming peoples they live with are the Yasa, Batanga, Bakoko, Mvae,
Ewondo and
Beti
Beti may refer to:
People
* Mongo Beti (1932–2001), Cameroonian writer
* Beti George (born 1939), Welsh television and radio broadcaster
* Beti Jones (1919–2006), Scottish social worker
* Beti Kamya-Turwomwe (born 1955), Ugandan businesswoma ...
.
See also
The name Bakola/Bakoya is also used for the
pygmies of the Congo–Gabon border region.
References
External links
Bakola documentation project DoBeS
African Forest PeoplesPygmy groups of Central Africa, with photos and sounds
African Pygmies
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