Forest People
Turnbull's entrance into the Ituri forest was shunned by the villagers but not by the BaMbuti. When Turnbull first visited the BaMbuti, they accepted him because they knew that he would bring plenty of tobacco, palm wine, and many other luxuries. The BaMbuti also considered him the father of all children. I personally have no basis for questioning his objectivity because of the manner in which the whole tribe accepted and respected him. It would be a difficult task for an author to fictionalize an account such as The Forest People. By allowing Turnbull to be present at the initiation in a way symbolized his initiation into the tribe. Turnbull stated, "But at the end of it all I knew something about the Pygmies, and they knew something about me, and a bond had been made between us by all the discomforts we had shared together as well as by all the fun." By this, Turnbull has obviously made an impact upon the BaMbuti. Another factor which contributed to maintaining his rapport was the fact that he was able to learn their language quickly. This is extremely important because communication in any kind of society is essential to making and keeping a functioning relationship. Also, the BaMbuti accepted h
The BaMbuti camp consisted of twenty-five to thirty families. In general, everyone was equal in wealth and in power. There was however a subtle social hierarchy within the tribe between the elders and the younger bachelors and kids of the tribe. The elders gain the most respect because they are the most knowledgeable and the most experienced with the forest. It is in this way that the tribe is distributed. Some older members like Njobo, would set up camp in a certain place, while other older members such as Cephu would set up in the same relative area but away from the main camp. The reasoning behind this is that Njobo has his extended family while Cephu has his. It is not that one dislikes the other, one just feels more at the head of their own family if slightly segregated from the other. Everyone still shares with each other whether or not they are related. In reality, everyone in the tribe is related in the way of intermarriage. On hunts some will be more successful than others. When the game is brought back to the camp, every person will try to claim a bit more meat on the account that he or she helped that person back then or gave them a pipestem or some long forgotten favor. In the end however, everyone comes away satisfied because everyone contributes to the hunt. There are those who obviously do the actual hunting and killing and there are women who beat the brush to chase the animals into the nets. For those not physically at the hunt, they prepare for the dinner that night and keep the camp attended. Every member works together to survive, and each member carries the same amount of responsibility as the next. The BaMbuti will act in a certain manner when they are around the villagers. They will act in a meek and lowly way, as if they are less than the negroes. However, as soon as they set back into the forest, their natural environment, the BaMbuti revert back to their old selves again. They act as if nothing happened and are back to their humorous selv
Some common words found in the essay are:
Balekimito Normally, Ituri Forest, Forest People, BaMbuti Turnbull, Paper Turnbull's, forest people, bambuti children forest, bambuti turnbull, provided forest, environment bambuti, forest meant, negroe villagers, bambuti accepted, bambuti children, tribe elders, children forest,
Approximate Word count = 1335
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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