Mbuti Culture

Mbuti Culture

Mbuti people, also known as Bambuti, are a pygmy foraging group consisting of numerous bands in the Congo region of Africa. Pygmy is a term used worldwide in many ethnic groups to describe individuals whose average height is unusually low. Foragers are a group of people who rely on hunting and gathering to obtain their food and other sources needed for survival. This paper will discuss the background of Mbuti people, their culture, and how society today is changing the future for these indigenous people.

Sometimes referred to as “the people of the trees,” Mbuti is one of the four cultures within the Bambuti. The Mbuti, as mentioned before, reside in the Congo region of Africa, specifically the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire. Zaire is home for the tropical rainforest, Ituri. “The “Forest,” or symbolized universe of the Mbuti, can be understood as a system of symbols by which kinship operates. These symbols have direct relevance to the Mbuti social world. The example of the concept of “sphere,” as an organizational system underlying the spatial layout of the family hut, the band community, and the “Forest” itself, illustrates the direct application of ndura symbolism to Mbuti life. Furthermore, the Mbuti kinship system functions at several different levels – the family, the sub-band, the band, and that of general Mbuti society, all of which are connected to the “Forest.” Various rituals of re-birth into each of these social levels are fundamental to the Mbuti kinship system as they integrate individuals into multiple facets of society. This constant negotiation of identity, both in kinship and in relation to the changing roles of the “Forest,” which is seen simultaneously as “mother,” “father,” “sibling” and “lover,” is essentially related to the seeming contradiction between the combined endogamtic and exogamatic marriage practices of the Mbuti. The marriage rules of the Mbuti are therefore fundamentally related to the symbols of “Forest,” which permeate social organization.” (Mosko, 1987)

The Mbuti are a relatively egalitarian society and have no ruling group or lineage, even though they usually follow a patrilineal descent system. “Mbuti pygmies of Central Africa are known for a fairly equal distribution of domestic and public power between males and females” (Hart & Sussman, 2008, p. 197). “Sister exchange” is the common form of marriage for Mbuti people. Turnbull (1965) described how sometimes male villagers of the Ituri Forest took a Mbuti wife, but never the reverse. The offspring were considered villagers, and the Mbuti wife “was in a good position to attract meat and honey” (Turnbull, 1965). A marriage was official when the groom presented an antelope in which he hunted and killed himself, to the bride’s parents. The bride would then move with her husband’s group. “Marriage is by choice and patrilocal, but the group a woman joins must replace her in the group she leaves” (French, 2008, p. 29). Mbuti pygmies live with their family in huts in the village. The women are responsible for the construction and repair of the huts. Using forest materials gathered by the men, such as sticks, large leaves, and vines, the huts are built spherical and small. The village is only temporary. When the dry season approaches, they move to where more vegetation and game are available, closer to the forest.

The Mbuti are foragers and are primarily hunter-gatherers. They use bow and arrow to hunt large game, and also nets and traps. Though they do not use the bow and arrows, women and children will participate. While the men are watching and securing the nets, the women and children will attempt to herd the animals to the net. If it rains, it makes it difficult to use the nets because they become weakened. A variety of food is collected. Antelope, pig, monkey, crab, fish, honey, berries, fruit, roots, and nuts are some of what is gathered. Men and women share the roles of gatherers. Trade was done with the nearby Bantu tribe. Often meat would be traded for pots, wooden items, and iron items.

While women were responsible for cooking, cleaning, and caring for the children, men also help raising the children. When a child is born, it is tradition that the mother be left in seclusion with the child for three days. “When a baby is two years old the mother carries it into the center of the compound, where the father sits with some food. The mother hands him the baby, and the father puts the child to his breast. The child tries to suck, gets nothing, and cries “mother” (ema). The father then puts solid food in the baby’s mouth and teaches it to say “father” (eba). The baby learns that fathers too nourish and cherish.” (French, 2008, p. 30) Rituals like these are common for Mbuti people. Similar rituals are performed during times of sorrow and sadness as well. It helps to put their lives back together and bring “balance.” “Girls generally undergo female circumcision as a symbol of their transition to womanhood and an indication of their journey towards marriage and childbirth. Among the Mbuti pygmi, a special rite of passage called elima is held to celebrate a girl’s first menstrual cycle. Dances, singing, and drumming often mark the ceremony, which can last for several days.” (World Trade Press, 2010, p. 6) “Once a girl is sexually mature, she can sleep in an elima house. Boys come to its door every night, begging entry. The girls and their chaperons stand in the doorway teasing, mocking, and hitting the boys. Some girls flick boys with a whip and let them enter. The youngsters spend the night together in an “embrace.” The embrace is said to be ecstatic, but less so than the embrace of marriage. Intercourse is permitted with certain restrictions, yet no girl ever gets pregnant in an elima house” (French, 2008, p. 29). This is one of the happiest occasions. Another ritual that is important, specifically for the males, is the molimo. This ritual occurs for many reasons. The molimo can last a few days to even months, depending on the occasion, like the death of an important tribe member or another crisis. The molimo is sung using a wooden or metal “trumpet” which is kept from the view of women and hidden until needed. When molimo takes place, young men will retrieve the “trumpet” and the best singer will play it. Singing and dancing take place around a fire which is considered sacred and is another important piece to the molimo ritual. It is believed that molimo helps to make “the forest happy.”

During the Congo Civil War (1998-2003), the Mbuti people were considered “subhuman” and were actually raped, murdered, and cannibalized. Violence still occurs till this day, but an Mbuti representative, Sinafasi Makelo, is communicating with the Council and trying to get recognition that cannibalism is a crime and an act of genocide. In today’s society, life for Mbuti people is very difficult. The land is being taken over by gold miners and modern day influences. Deforestation has also limited them to the areas in which they can gather and hunt. Hunting of large game animals is no longer allowed, so the use of nets is now their primary source of “hunting.” Some Mbuti have resorted to conforming and becoming civilized, but they find it very hard to live this way. Mbuti people have said that “When the forest dies, we die.”

Mbuti people are “exemplars of the human capacity for goodness and love” (Towles & Turnbull, n.d.). The Forest is their God. For decades these indigenous people have survived using natural resources. Now, they are being stripped from their “home” and forced to live the way others want them to, or be exterminated. I believe that everybody should be able to live their lives. People in today’s society have become so greedy and demanding. Rather than ruining culture and heritage, we should embrace it. Instead of shunning people and harming them for being “different,” we should become friendlier and more humble. Remember the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

References

French, M. (2008). From eve to dawn: Vol. 1. A history of women (p. 29). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action?docID=10309893&ppg=40
French, M. (2008). From eve to dawn: Vol. 1. A history of women (p. 30). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/docDetail.action?docID=10309893&ppg=40
Hart, D. L., & Sussman, R. W. (2008). Gentle savage or blood thirsty brute? In Man the hunted: Primates, predators, and human evolution, expanded edition (p. 197). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/ docDetail.action?docID=10267510&ppg=213
Mosko, M. S. (1987). The symbols of “forest”: A structural analysis of Mbuti culture and social organization (Vol. 89, pp. 896-913). Retrieved from http://www.publicanthropology.org/Archive/Aa1987.htm
Towles, J. A., & Turnbull, C. M. (n.d.). Biographical note. In Joseph A. Towles papers, circa 1920s - 2009. Retrieved November 25, 2010, from Avery Research Center, College of Charleston website: http://avery.cofc.edu/ archives/Towles_Joseph_A.html#d0e1808
Turnbull, C. M. (1965). Wayward servants: The two worlds of the African Pygmies. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/human_biology/v081/81.2.bentley.html
World Trade Press. (2010). Lifecycles. In Congo, Dem. Rep. of society and culture (p. 6). Retrieved from http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ashford/ docDetail.action?docID=10389349&ppg=8