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THÈSE La Subsistance Des Pygmées Bakoya À L'épreuve

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THÈSE La Subsistance Des Pygmées Bakoya À L'épreuve MUSÉUM NATIONAL D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE Ecole Doctorale Sciences de la Nature et de l’Homme – ED 227 Département « Hommes, Natures, Sociétés » UMR CNRS 7206 : Éco-Anthropologie et ethnobiologie Année 2010 N°attribué par la bibliothèque |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_| THÈSE Pour obtenir le grade de DOCTEUR DU MUSÉUM NATIONAL D’HISTOIRE NATURELLE Spécialité : ETHNOÉCOLOGIE Présentée et soutenue publiquement par Beatriz SOENGAS LÓPEZ Le 07 janvier 2010 La subsistance des Pygmées Bakoya à l’épreuve de l’agriculture : dynamique de s savoirs ethnobotaniques et des pratiques. (Département de la Zadié, Ogooué-Ivindo, Gabon) Sous la direction de : Monsieur le Professeur Serge BAHUCHET Composition du jury : Monsieur Serge BAHUCHET Professeur, MNHN, Paris (075) Directeur de thèse Madame Françoise GRENAND Directrice de recherche CNRS, Cayenne (097) Rapporteur Madame Victoria REYES-GARCÍA Chargée de recherche, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona (Espagne) Rapporteur Monsieur George AUGUSTINS Professeur, Université Paris Ouest-Nanterre La Défense (092) Examinateur Madame Daou Véronique JOIRIS Maître de conférences, Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgique) Examinateur Monsieur Christian LECLERC Chargé de recherche, CIRAD, Montpellier (034) Examinateur Monsieur Doyle McKEY Professeur, Université de Montpellier II, Montpellier (034) Examinateur RÉSUMÉ À l’origine chasseurs-cueilleurs semi-nomades, les Pygmées Bakoya vivent aujourd’hui dans des villages en bordure de route où ils cohabitent avec des groupes ethniques non-pygmées (Mwesa, Mahongwe, Kota, Kwele et Bongom). Ce groupe pygmée atypique car sédentaire depuis relativement longtemps et pratiquant désormais une agriculture comparable à celle des agriculteurs non-pygmées auprès desquels ils ont appris à cultiver, offre un cadre intéressant pour l’étude de la dynamique des savoirs naturalistes locaux. L’objet de ma thèse est d’étudier les répercussions que le changement de mode de subsistance des Bakoya a eu sur le corpus de savoir ethnobotanique, en me focalisant sur les plantes utilisées lors d’une activité traditionnelle, la collecte, et sur la principale culture vivrière, le manioc. Pour ce faire, j’ai mené une étude comparative et synchronique parmi les Bakoya d’Imbong et d’Ekata, deux villages contrastés en termes de distance à la ville et montrant aussi des différences socioéconomiques. J’ai analysé de quelle manière les savoirs ethnobotaniques variaient selon l’âge et le sexe parmi les Bakoya des deux villages. Le même protocole de recherche a été mis en place auprès de leurs voisins non-pygmées, permettant ainsi de les comparer aux Bakoya et de voir si les uns et les autres se différencient. La méthodologie employée est une combinaison de méthodes tant qualitatives que quantitatives. D’une part, j’ai réalisé une ethnographie pour décrire les groupes sociaux en présence, leur organisation sociale et leur mode de production. Elle a permis de mettre en lumière les changements sociaux, les transformations économiques de ce groupe : (i) la place importante qu’occupe l’agriculture dans le mode de production koya pour l’autoconsommation mais également pour la vente, (ii) l’abandon d’activités collectives traditionnelles, notamment de chasse, et (iii) des changements dans la nature des relations entre Bakoya et non-Pygmées, les Bakoya étant désormais, selon les cas, moins dépendants des non-Pygmées. D’autre part, j’ai fait appel à des méthodes quantitatives qui ont permis de mettre en lumière de quelle façon les savoirs ethnobotaniques liées aux activités de subsistance sont distribués et transmis. Parmi les résultats obtenus, il apparaît qu’aujourd’hui Bakoya et non-Pygmées partagent les mêmes pratiques agricoles et les mêmes connaissances concernant le manioc. Par contre, il existe des savoirs différenciés concernant les plantes de collecte, les Bakoya étant globalement plus connaisseurs que les non-Pygmées, avec des distinctions plus notables en ce qui concerne la médecine traditionnelle et les arbres employés pour la construction ou la fabrication d’objets utilitaires. Par ailleurs, hommes et femmes, bien qu’ayant des savoirs spécifiques liés aux pratiques qui leur incombent en écho à la division sexuelle du travail, ne sont pas pour autant dépourvus de savoirs liés aux tâches du sexe opposé. Malgré la scolarisation, de façon générale les enfants ont des connaissances importantes concernant les plantes de collecte, mais aussi le manioc. De plus, le changement de mode de subsistance a eu notamment comme conséquence un changement dans le système de valeurs des Bakoya. Dorénavant, après une sédentarisation relativement ancienne et une cohabitation longue avec les non-Pygmées, leurs priorités sont plus tournées vers l’agriculture. Les perceptions liées à la forêt se voient remodelées, en opérant une dichotomie entre le monde du village et celui de la forêt. Mots clés: Pygmées Bakoya, manioc, plantes de collecte, dynamique des savoirs, ethnobotanique quantitative, genre, transmission, Gabon. - 1 - REMERCIEMENTS Merci aux habitants d’Imbong et d’Ekata de m’avoir accueillie. Ils m’ont fait grandir, remettre en question et appréhender autrement les difficultés quotidiennes. Que cette thèse leur soit dédiée. À Joséphine, Denis, Joseph, Rosalie, Suzanne, Max, Achille, Clément et tous les autres, Bakoya, Bakota, Mwesa, Bongom, Mahongwe, Bakwele d’Imbong et d’Ekata. Que votre patiente, gentillesse et votre chaleur soient ici sincèrement remerciées. Une pensée particulière à ceux qui sont partis et que je n’oublierai pas: Ia, Mathurin, Norbert et Raphaël. Je remercie également les commerçants hausa de Mékambo, Mamad, papa Ali et leurs confrères pour leur accueil et leur gentillesse, ainsi que Fabien mon ami transporteur préféré et les amis de Libreville : Levis, sans qui j’aurais peut-être péri en 2006 (maudit palu), Norbert, Eliane et la famille. Ainsi, cette thèse que j’ai entreprise comme un défi m’a énormément apporté. Quatre années de travail, de découvertes, de doutes et d’angoisses parfois et surtout à la fin du parcours. C’est pourquoi, je tiens ici à remercier chaleureusement mon directeur de recherche, Serge Bahuchet, qui m’a offert l’occasion de vivre cette expérience. Merci d’avoir cru en moi. Je remercie également l’Institut Émilie du Châtelet qui m’a financé tout le long de ma recherche. Merci à Évelyne Peyre et Priscille Touraille pour leur soutien et leur aide. Mes remerciements vont aussi à l’administration de l’Université Omar Bongo à Libreville (Gabon) dont la collaboration a permis la délivrance des autorisations de recherche nécessaires pour mener les missions sur le terrain. Merci à Sylvie Le Bomin de m’avoir accueillie à Libreville lors de la première mission et pour les corrections qu’elle a apportées au manuscrit. Je tiens à remercier les membres du jury d’avoir accepté d’évaluer ce travail et en particulier Georges Augustins et Victoria Reyes-García qui m’ont encouragée et aidée à me dépêtrer d’Anthropac à distance. Je remercie également Christian Leclerc et Daou Véronique Joiris d’avoir participé à mon comité de thèse. Je souhaite remercier les chercheurs du Muséum, Annette Hladik et Jacques Florence pour les déterminations de l’herbier, Didier Paugy pour les poissons et Raymond Baudoin pour son éclairage sur les statistiques. - 2 - Que le personnel du laboratoire d’Éco-Anthropologie & ethnobiologie, chercheurs, administratifs et bibliothécaires, soit vivement remercié pour son soutien et ses encouragements. Je pense particulièrement à Alain Epelboin, Annie Marx et Mireille Gruska pour l’initiation à la vidéo, leur collaboration et les nombreux échanges, et à Jean-Marie Betsch pour son aide précieuse, ses corrections et son soutien inconditionnel. Un énorme merci à Bertrand Taillez. Une jolie amitié est née suite à ma soutenance de Mastère à l’ENGREF. Après un mémoire, c’est la thèse que tu as lue. Merci Bertrand pour l’intérêt que tu as porté à ce travail, les corrections et tes encouragements qui m’ont accompagné tout le long de la rédaction. J’embrasse fort et remercie mes compagnons de route et amis du laboratoire pour leur soutien indéfectible, notamment Marine, Aurélie, Clémence, Claire, Cindy, Maya, Emeric et Nicolas. Un grazie mille à Shelly et Mariana ainsi que ses compères génois. Je vous souhaite à tous beaucoup de réussite et j’espère que les liens tissés lors de ces quatre années perdureront. Un chaleureux merci aux amis qui sont toujours là depuis tout ce temps, bien que parfois loin de moi, pour leur amitié fidèle : Damien, Sébastien, Hervé, Cécile, Nathalie, Vanessa et Claudia. Puis j’embrasse fort Lucie et Marc, mes deux compères de D.E.A. Sans oublier, les partenaires de billard du vendredi. Merci d’avoir supporté mes moments d’angoisses. Merci grande soeur pour ton soutien sans faille. Enfin, je dédie particulièrement cette thèse à mes parents que j’aime fort et dont j’admire le courage. Je pense tendrement à eux et ne sais comment les remercier pour tout ce qu’ils m’ont apporté. Leur séjour en France s’achève. Cette fin de thèse et leur départ sont une page qui se tourne pour nous. Je vous souhaite un bon retour au pays, partez tranquilles et profitez pleinement de votre nouvelle vie et de notre Galice. - 3 - AVANT-PROPOS Les citations des informateurs ont été retranscrites avec une mise en page particulière qui permet de les distinguer. Elles sont accompagnées de l’initiale de l’informateur pour lequel nous préciserons son groupe ethnique et son lieu de résidence. Les mots issus de citations figureront dans le corps de texte entre guillemets. Les mots en français local et les noms vernaculaires en koya sont retranscrits en italique. Les termes koya recueillis au cours de ce travail ont été retranscrits de façon simplifiée et homogène selon une convention personnelle. Les préfixes de classe qui expriment la marque du pluriel et du singulier ont été indiqués dans le texte selon que le terme est présenté au singulier ou au pluriel, par exemple : di.butu (singulier) ; ma.butu au pluriel.
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