Intergenerational Cultural Transmission through Songs and Dances among the Baka Hunter-Gatherers in Cameroon

Hunter-gatherer children acquire knowledge, skills, and cultural values through mixed-age group play. This study investigates how songs and dances performed by Baka children, as forms of such play, are connected to those performed by Baka adults. A total of 610 recordings of songs and dances were collected from nine villages, including those of neighboring Konabembe farmers, to identify the characteristics of Baka performances. Analysis of 146 distinct types of dance movements revealed that Baka children’s songs and dances are characterized by synchronized actions among participants, the absence of a prominent leader, and flexible individual adaptations within group coordination. Similarly, adult performances proceed without a central decision-maker, as the flow of songs and dances is collectively determined, reflecting the egalitarian nature of hunter-gatherer societies. The continuity of these characteristics—from children’s play to adult ritual—suggests that the blurred boundary between play and ritual, together with the joint participation of children and adults, facilitates the transmission of knowledge, skills, and cultural values across generations.