Punu

Gabon, Congo

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The Punu number about 40,000, and they are primarily slash and burn farmers who inhabit the rain forest regions of Gabon and Congo. To augment their diets, they fish and raise small livestock like sheep, goats, and chickens. A sex-based division of labor is common in most villages as the men hunt and clear land while the women tend to agricultural tasks. Individual settlements are autonomous, and no centralized government exists. Few specifics are known about Punu religion, but most scholars believe that they practice a system of ancestor worship similar to that of neighboring peoples. 7