Mbuti

By John Beierle

Mbuti, Bambuti, BaMbuti, Wambuti.

Peoples known as "Pygmies" are scattered throughout equatorial Africa, from Cameroon in the west to Zambia in the southeast. In Democratic Republic of the Congo, there are three groups of "Pygmies"; the Tswa in the west, the Twa between Lake Kivu and Lake Tanganyika, and the Mbuti (plural, Bambuti) of the Ituri Forest. According to Schebesta, the author of the earliest reliable reports, only the Mbuti are true Pygmies, i.e., under 150 cm. in height and relatively unmixed with neighboring peoples. The other groups are referred to as "Pygmoids," being highly intermixed with other peoples both physically and culturally (1: Turnbull: 159-B). All of the Pygmies of the Ituri Forest recognize themselves by the term Mbuti, and are affiliated through trade relationships with one or more groups of village-living horticulturalists. Each Pygmy group speaks a dialect of the language of whichever group of horticulturalists they are associated with in trade. The Mbuti as a whole are clearly distinct from these village neighbors both racially and culturally, and, Turnbull says, the economic differences between the Mbuti groups mask a basic "structural unity" (2: Turnbull: 22-23).

The Mbuti are located at latitude 0-3° north and longitude 26-30° east. The Ituri Forest is a primary rain forest. Ethnographers have classified the Mbuti in two ways, linguistically and by their preferred hunting method. The Mbuti speak variants of the languages of their villager neighbors. The term Mbuti is used in two senses, broad and narrow. As noted in the preceding paragraph, all Pygmies of the Ituri Forest are called Mbuti. However, the term Mbuti is also used to designate one of four constituent groups. According to Peacock (1985: 21) "The name 'BaMbuti' in its strictest sense is applied to the net-hunting Pygmies who are associated with the Bantu-speaking Babira in the central and southern Ituri. ... the Sua and Aka are also net-hunters, and are associated respectively with the Bantu-speaking Babudu in the west and Sudanic Mangbetu in the northern Ituri. The Efe archers,... are associated with the Sudanic-speaking Balese and Mamvu in the eastern and south-eastern Ituri." The Aka have only recently been studied by Hewlett (see the Additional Bibliography on the Mbuti). The Efe were studied by Schebesta, and more recently by Bailey, Peacock, Fischer, and Grinker (see the Additional Bibliography on the Mbuti). Most work has been done on the BaMbuti.

Since there has never been an official census, it is impossible to give an accurate estimate of the total Mbuti population. From discussion with missionaries and administrators and from his own experience, however, Turnbull estimated that the population was approximately 40,000 in 1958, a figure which he repeats in 1973 (2: Turnbull: 26; 5: Turnbull 1973: 28). Peacock also gives the number of Mbuti as 40,000 (1985: 21).

The most profound difference between the Mbuti groups, the linguistic difference, as noted above, is, according to Turnbull, of recent origin and is purely "accidental" (2: Turnbull: 22-23). Furthermore, in spite of the fact that the languages are very different, there are enough similarities in intonation to make it possible for Pygmies to recognize, if not comprehend, each other.

The Mbuti maintain relationships with the surrounding Bantu village cultivators whose languages the Mbuti have adopted. Many accounts indicate that the Mbuti are highly acculturated and have adopted many features of villager lifestyle beyond language, such as the clan system and certain religious observances. Turnbull feels that these features are quite superficial, however. Lineage relationships of both Mbuti and villagers are hereditary on both sides. The KARE brotherhood is established between individuals in the NKUMBI initiation ceremonies. In the NKUMBI initiation, male villagers and Mbuti are circumcised. The relationship established in the initiation is continued throughout life and centers around economic exchange.

The Mbuti live in territorially defined nomadic bands, which number from twenty to as many as a hundred individuals, who wander over recognized hunting territories owned collectively by the group (Murdock 1959: 50). Camp sites are temporary in nature and consist of a circle of huts arranged around an open space. The huts, which are built by women, are hemispherical in shape and consist of a framework of flexible poles set in the ground in a circle or ellipse, bent together and fastened at the top, then covered with leaves. In many cases the dwellings are nothing more than windbreaks covered with leaves or bark.

Subsistence is based primarily on hunting and gathering. Men hunt small animals as well as deer, wild boar, and even the hippopotamus and elephant, while women gather various types of wild fruits, roots, insects and larvae, lizards, and frequently shellfish. Fishing is also of significant economic importance among many groups, and done primarily by women. The Mbuti keep no domestic animals except the dog, which they use in hunting. Agriculture was not practiced in traditional Mbuti society.

The relationship between the Mbuti and the villagers is maintained on several different levels, centering around trade. The Pygmies bring the villagers honey and meat in return for plantation products. This economic exchange can occur on several levels: between the band and the village as a whole (CAPITA/chief), between lineage and lineage (lineage elder/KPARA), or between individuals (KARE/KARE).

Land is collectively owned by the band or clan.

Exogamous totemic patrisibs have been reported for the Mbuti, but their evidence suggests strongly that it is only the localized lineage or patriclan which is exogamous. The Bantu villagers with whom the Mbuti have frequent contacts, are characterized by patrilineal descent and patrilocal clan-communities, and these features of social organization may have been borrowed by the Mbuti from them. It is possible, if not probable, that the Mbuti were originally bilateral in descent, even though patrilocal residence and local exogamy may have prevailed (Murdock 1959: 51.).

Although marriage among the Mbuti is generally monogamous, polygyny is not forbidden and may occur to a limited extent. In such cases, each wife has a separate hut. Wives are obtained by the giving of substantial gifts to the bride's relatives, basically a form of bride-price. The exchange of sisters is the preferred form of marriage. Occasionally bride-service also takes place among the Mbuti. Local exogamy is the general rule, and marriage is usually forbidden between first cousins and all closer kin. At the death of her husband, a widow may marry the brother or other close relative of the deceased. Residence is principally patrilocal, although cases of matrilocal residence have been reported. A wife normally joins the band of her husband, to which their children also belong.

The basic household unit among the Mbuti is the nuclear family. Related families often erect their huts next to one another.

The Mbuti do not practice slavery, nor do they have any form of stratification in social classes. The band is egalitarian and democratic in nature. Formal age-grades are lacking.

The Mbuti live in territorially defined nomadic bands. The membership of these bands is very fluid. Bands have no formal political structure; there are no chiefs, and there is no council. An informal consensus among old respected men is the basis of decisions affecting the entire camp.

In spite of Turnbull's insistence on "basic structural unity," the differences in hunting techniques appear to have considerable effect upon the nature of the band organization. Net hunting is a cooperative venture, requiring the cooperation of the whole band, including the women and children. The use of the bow and arrow in hunting, on the other hand, is primarily a family venture, requiring only two or three men. The most obvious distinction resulting from the economic differences is that of band size. Archer bands average about 6 huts per band, while net-hunting bands average about 15 huts.

The religious life of the Mbuti is not at all clear. Early reports state that they had no religion at all, and later reports dwell on whether or not the Mbuti relationship to the supernatural structurally constitutes "religion" (usually defined by belief in one supreme being) or "magic." In any event, there appear to be two ceremonies of importance, both of which are concerned with resolving crises and returning the band to stability. The MOLIMO ceremony is performed primarily by men and is associated with singing and the use of a particular type of horn, called the MOLIMO horn. The MOLIMO is particularly associated with death, but it may be performed at any crisis, such as a poor hunting season. The ELIMA ceremony is performed primarily by women and is associated with life-cycle crises of particular concern to women, such as birth, puberty, marriage, and death.

The Mbuti have many remedies against all kinds of illnesses that apparently are quite effective. In particular they know how to clean open wounds and prevent infection, they know how to set and mend broken limbs, they know how to reduce fevers, and they know how to alleviate minor ailments such as headache, toothache and mild stomach disorders using a wide variety of plants found in the natural environment (2: Turnbull, p. 260). They also have effective medicines against snakebite. The use of enemas in the treatment of various ailments is also in general use among the Mbuti. In instances where the standard treatment of a disease or injury fails, and the cause is believed to be magical, the Mbuti often will go to the villagers seeking assistance from the local witch doctor in the magical treatment of the ailment.

Death, which is sometimes attributed to sorcery and witchcraft, is accepted as just as natural a phenomenon as birth, and the body is accorded little ritual respect (1: Turnbull, p. 222-C). There is hardly any information on the notions of the Mbuti on life after death, except that they firmly believe that life continues in some form or another, in much the same way that it is lived by the living. When a body dies, a vital part of it, the soul or personality leaves, becoming either a forest spirit (SATANI), or going to some other place where it will have nothing further to do with the living. In either of these cases it will continue to exist in much the same manner at it did when it inhabited the living person -- hunting, gathering, etc. The SATANI spirits, however, can die, whereas there is no death in the more remote spirit world. Among the archer groups of Mbuti, there is a distinction between body, shade, and soul, called respectively ELA (or EDA), TEDI, and BORU E' I (BORUPI in Efe). The breath or EKEU is the vital force extinguished at death. Shades become BEFE or forest sprites, while the soul appears to return to God (TORE) in the sky where it becomes a star.

Burial is the customs among both the net hunters and archer groups of Mbuti. The body is buried either inside or immediately beside the hut of the deceased and then the hut pulled down over the grave and the camp immediately deserted. No grave goods are buried with the corpse.

There are six documents comprising the Mbuti collection. Numbers 1-3, and 5 are all by Turnbull and are based on fieldwork done among the Mbuti in the narrow sense, i.e., the Epulu band of net hunters during the 1950s and early 1970s. 1: Turnbull is based primarily on secondary sources in which he compares data from the Epulu net hunters with data from Schebesta who studied archers and whose major work on the Mbuti was published in 1938. 2: Turnbull is on cultural factors contributing to cohesiveness of Mbuti bands and their independence of village control. 3: Turnbull is a narrative of the band's reaction to the death of one of its members, and of rites and attitudes related to coming of age and marriage. 4: Putnam is on the same band of net hunters which Turnbull studied (the Epulu). It gives sketchy information on a number of topics. 5: Turnbull discusses some of the major aspects of Mbuti ethnography and the sanctuary furnished by the Ituri Forest. This document describes Mbuti existence under colonialism, their symbiotic relations with the villagers, and the cultural changes taking place in the society following the war of independence in Democratic Republic of the Congo. 6: HRAF consists of a bibliography on the Mbuti.

The culture summary and synopsis were prepared by John Beierle in April 1993.

• BORU -- the human or animal body inhabited by PEPO (life force) -- Categories 778, 761 or 826

• "forest", as a spiritual entity or personified benevolent force -- Category 778

• KETI -- the disembodied spirits of humans and animals -- Categories 776, 769

• KPARA -- the relationship between individual Mbuti and villagers -- Categories 571 and 608

• MEGBE -- the vital force emanating from the totem and immanent, to different degrees, in all human beings -- Categories 778 or 761

• MOLIMO -- as a mourning ceremony, Category 765; as a trumpet used in the ceremony, Category 534; as an association, Category 757

• relationships between the Mbuti bands and the villagers in general -- Categories 177 and 648; economic aspects of these relationships -- Category 439; on an interpersonal plane, Categories 571, 578

• ROHO -- the personality of a person which dies with the individual -- Categories 828, 778

• SATANI (SHAITANHI) -- malevolent and dangerous spirits -- Categories 776, 769, or 775

Harako, Reizo. The Mbuti as hunters: a study of ecological anthropology of the Mbuti Pygmies. IN: Kyoto University African studies -- Vol. 10. Kyoto, Japan, The Research Institute for Humanistic Studies, Kyoto University, 1976.

Murdock, George Peter. Africa: its peoples and their culture history. New York, Toronto, London, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1959.

Peacock, Nadine Ruth. Time allocation, work, and fertility among Efe Pygmy women of northeast Zaire. Thesis (Ph.D.) -- Harvard University, 1985.