Mbuti

In northeast Congo, formerly called Zaire, there is a rainforest that lies beyond the reaches of modern society.  The people that currently live in this seemingly impenetrable forest are called the Pygmies.  One tribe whose people would be considered “pygmies,” is the Mbuti.

The Mbuti has a population of about 30,000 to 40,000 people.  They live in bands or tribes of 15-60 people.  These people have chosen to stay within the reaches of the rainforest for a long time.  The first written history of the Mbuti is Egyptian.  The Egyptians called the Mbuti the “pygmies” or the “people in the trees.”  This was written around 2,500 B.C.

Since the Mbuti have occupied the Ituri Rainforest for so long, they know the forest very well.  The Ituri Rainforest is 70,000 square kilometers, or about 43,496 square miles.  This is about the size of the state of Wisconsin.   The rainforest is their home, food provider and at times their antagonist.

Therefore the forest is an extremely large part of their lives, some might even say the forest is their life.  The Mbuti refer to the forest as “mother” or “father.”  After living in the forest, they have figured out how to utilize its gifts while keeping the antagonist in it as distant as possible.

They have devised methods of gathering food.  The men are the hunters and the women are food gatherers.  Along with being gatherers they drive game animals into nets that the men are holding.  The women also care for the children and build the homes. 

Since they hunt game, they have to move with the animals.  The homes are made of saplings with large leaves covering the round huts.  This non-sedentary lifestyle takes less time but allows for a more balanced diet.  The non-sedentary lifestyle gives more free time for stories and music.

Along with stories and music, the Mbuti perform rituals in order to keep the forest “spirit” happy.  The most performed ritual is called the Molimo.  This ritual is performed on many occasions including when there is death within a band, if there is reason for giving thanks and most of all to keep their lives in order.  The women and children of the band sit in the huts and close the doors.  The men sit around a fire and sing and dance.  At some point in the singing, the young men go and receive the Molimo, a trumpet made from wood, which is hanging hidden in a tree.  The young men wash the trumpet in a river to “wet its thirst.”  They return to the fire when the singing and dancing is at a peak.  The young men then sing into the trumpet and they all dance and sing together.

Since the Mbuti live within the rainforest, their contact with other cultures is limited. They trade meat with the Bantu villagers who live on the outskirts of the rainforest.  The villagers live a sedentary lifestyle that revolves around agriculture.  They trade crafts and food with the Mbuti.  Both of these cultures see the other as a population of heathens.

The Mbuti have managed to maintain stable society without an authority or a central government. If there is a disagreement they just argue it all out within their bands.  If they can't come to an agreement they may cast a member out of the band. 

Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not claim expertise on the Mbuti.

Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the URL.

If you are Mbuti, your feedback is much appreciated.

Sources

The Mbuti of Zaire- http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~epsadm03/mbuti.html

The Mbuti “Pygmies of Congo-  http://www.survival.org.uk/mbuti.htm

http://www.survival-international.org/pygmy.htm

John Ronnei