Gagu

Gagu / Gagon

The Gagu people are a south-central Ivory Coast ethnic group, likely the first in the region. They are part of the Pygmy people cluster within the Sub-Saharan African affinity bloc. This people group is only found in Cote d’Ivoire.

Gagu People

The Gagu population today is approximately 79,400 people. (Peoplegroups.org, 2023)

Ethnologists believe they were the first ethnic group to occupy the región in the Department of Oumé. The earliest anthropological reports of the Gagu indicated that they were shorter in stature than surrounding peoples, which has led to some speculation that they also have pygmoid roots. The fact that they supplemented their farming by a persistent hunting and gathering culture, as well as their tendency to make clothing out of bark, has reinforced that conclusión.

 

Religion

The primary religion practiced by the Gagu is animism, a religious worldview that natural physical entities, including animals, plants, and even inanimate objects possess a spiritual essence.

 

Language

Their heart language is Gban, though the well-educated among them also speak French, the trade language of Cote d’Ivoire. As the Gagu have become increasingly acculturated to the Guros; most Gagu now speak Guro as their first language.

 

Economy

The Gagu people are farmers, but they supplement their food supply by fishing and hunting. They make clothes out of bark. Some congregate in the town of Gagnoa to trade and sell goods they found in wild areas.

 

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