Mbuti Pygmies

African Pygmies

There are a number of pygmy groups throughout Africa, such as the Twa and the Tswa, but it is the Mbuti who form the largest single group of pygmies and have retained their traditional culture for much longer than other pygmy groups. The Mbuti are divided into three primary linguistic–geographical groups—the Efe, the Aka, and the Sua—as a result of adopting the language of those villagers with whom they came into contact. Although there are some marked distinctions among these groups (e.g., some hunt with nets, whereas others hunt with bows and arrows or spears), they nonetheless share many similarities regarding polity, religion, family life, rituals, formalized relationships with villagers, and a current [Page 1559]trend toward assimilation with outsiders as globalization encroaches on their previously isolated home.

“The Mother and Father”: The Ituri Forest

The Ituri rain forest located in Africa's Congo lies just north of the equator and covers approximately 70,000 square kilometers (43,496 square miles), an area roughly the size of the state of Wisconsin. It is a world of filtered sunlight under a dense canopy of trees that typically reach 100 feet, with some climbing to200 feet, leaving the forest shaded, cool, and moist. A single, often impassable dirt road was built during the 1930s and cuts through the forest from east to west, isolating it from much outside influence. To outsiders, the Ituri is a dark and menacing place inhabited with malevolent spirits. Villagers are engaged in an incessant battle with the forest that threatens to overtake their fields. The Mbuti, on the contrary, view the forest as a parental deity deserving love and praise in return for providing them with all they need. For this reason, the Mbuti call themselves bamiki bandura (the children of the forest). The forest provides them with materials for shelter (geodesic dome-shaped huts made of saplings and covered with waterproof mongongo leaves), clothing (cloth made of bark and decorated with plant dyes), and food. The forest is the foundation of the Mbuti culture and shapes elements such as sociopolitical structure, economic production, and religion.

The Band

Hunters and gatherers live in small, mobile, politically autonomous groups known as bands. All members of a band are related to one another either directly or indirectly. Each of the Mbuti bands is dispersed over a large territory with a very low population density. As of 1958, there were only an estimated 40,000 Mbuti in the entire Ituri. The band has a territory that is geographically isolated from other bands and is able to provide sufficient resources for its inhabitants. In addition, fluidity of band membership helps to ensure appropriate band size to prevent outstripping resources while providing the group with enough people to hunt. Band members can move to other bands temporarily or permanently as they see fit. Ties of kin through marriage provide one type of link to other bands. Marriage is exogamous (band members are to marry outside of their own band), and so any individual's parents will come from two separate bands. Band size is also variable depending on factors such as seasonal variation in game and hunting style. During times of plenty, such as the honey season, Mbuti bands may break into smaller units while hunting is temporarily suspended. In general, band size is larger for net hunters than for bow and spear hunters.

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