My presentation on the Bambuti for Peoples and Cultures of Africa

1. The Bambuti
• The Bambuti people group live in The
Democratic Republic Congo (formerly Zaire).

2. Origins and Populations
• There are approximately 20,000 Bambuti pygmies
dwelling in the Ituri Forest.
• The Bambuti have lived in the Ituri Forest and the
Central African rainforests for over 6,000 years.

3. The Ituri Forest
• The Ituri forest is sacred and is the core element of
traditional Bambuti life.
• The forest is sometimes referred to as their
“mother”.
• A source of food, clothing, and shelter

4. History of the Bambuti
• The earliest recorded reference to the
Bambuti is in the story of an expedition by
Egyptians around 2500 B.C.
• Were referred to as the “People of the Trees”
by the Egyptians.
• Were considered mythical creatures until the
1800s.

5. History of the Bambuti
Henry Morton Stanley

6. A Little Bit About the Bambuti…
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=end
screen&v=cix0w7NIt24&NR=1 (2:29 – 4:18)

7. Lifecycle: Family Size
• Individual households are called “endu” and consist
of a husband, a wife, and their children.
• Families live in bands of approximately 50 people.

8. Lifecycle: Birth and Life Expectancy
• According to a study that took place in 2007,
the life expectancy of an Mbuti infant at birth
is only 15-16 years.
• - Even when an Mbuti ages past 15, their life
expectancy is still only 35.

9. Lifecycle: Birth and Life Expectancy
• Communality and interdependence are
learned as children.
• Children refer to the women of their village as
“Ema”.
• Children are nursed long after they can walk
and talk and are often swapped with children
of sisters and close friends.

10. Lifecycle: Betrothal and Marriage
• Marriage takes place shortly after puberty begins.
• Mutual affection can play a part in marriage but
betrothal is mainly via family members.
• Divorce is common.
• A typical marriage is monogamous because the
number of women is less compared to the number of
men.
• There is no formal bridal ceremony or bride prize.

11. Lifecycle: Death
• At the death of an individual, the Molimo
ritual is carried out.
• The dead are buried in huts and are
abandoned when the village moves to another
area.

12. Household: Food
• The Bambuti diet depends on the rain, which
determines hunting and gardening productivity.
• Typical crops: Rice, cassava, and sweet potatoes
• The pangolin is a delicacy.

13. Household: Language
• Due to the process of aculturization, the
Bambuti have lost their original language and
have acquired the Bantu dialect.
• Lese: Spoken by the Efe
• Bila: Dialect influenced by the Bantu

14. Gender and Labor Roles
• Men and women share roles as gatherers of
vegetation and hunting, except for hunting
with bows and arrows.
• Men are responsible for hunting as well as
making the traditional cloth.
• Women are responsible for building and
maintaining the huts, cooking, cleaning,
fetching water, and caring for the children.

15. Beliefs, Taboos, and Superstitions
• The Ituri Forest
• The giant forest hog
• Food taboos
• Blood

16. Customs and Rituals
• Molimo Ceremony – The most important
ritual in the Bambuti life
• Nkumbi Ritual – Rite of passage for boys
• Elima Ceremony – Ritual for women
• Anjo Ritual – Ritual performed to control the
weather and to improve hunting

17. Material Culture: Styles of Dress
• Men wear loincloths.
• Traditional cloth is made from the inner bark of
vines.
• Western influence has increased the use of
manufactured fabrics.

18. Material Culture: Styles of Dress

19. Material Culture: Dwellings
• The Bambuti live in villages of small round
huts called “phrynium huts” made from
pliable saplings covered in large phrynium
leaves.
• The dwellings are abandoned when the village
moves on in search of more abundant game
and vegetation.
• Each new village has easy access to a Bantu
village for trading purposes.

20. Material Culture: Dwellings

21. Transportation
• The Mbuti travel on foot as the paths and
roads are not fit for motor vehicles.

22. Hunting and Cultivation
The Bambuti are hunters…

23. Hunting and Cultivation
…and gatherers.

24. Hunting and Cultivation
• Hunting only occurs when meat is needed for
consumption or for trade with the Bantu.
• Hunting is done with bows and arrows and
fishing is done with nets.

25. Politics: Governance
• The Bambuti live cooperatively and have no
central figure of authority.
• Decisions are made by a group of elders.
• Decisions are argued over until a resolution is
achieved.

26. Politics: Conflict and Warfare
• The Bambuti are a peaceful people and prefer to avoid
conflict.
• Involved in the occupation of Epulu by Jean-Pierre
Bemba and his rebels, “Les Effaceurs” after Mobutu’s
reign.

27. Economics: Income and Trading
• Traditionally have sought to live a life free of
creating goods for profit as they believe the
forest supplies their needs.
• Trading takes place with neighboring villages.
• Honey and are meat traded in exchange for
vegetation.
• Meat from the giant forest hog is favored for
trading.

28. Supernatural Beliefs
• The Bambuti believe in a greater power which
they acknowledge and see around them.
• Five interchangeable terms for this force:
pepo, keti, boru, roho, and satani

29. Supernatural: Afterlife
• Though there are beliefs of disembodied
spirits, there is no certain belief in the
afterlife.

30. Supernatural: Spirits
• Muungu: The highest of the forest deities;
giver of wealth and goodness
• Belief in totemic spirits or sitana – Represent
the group’s unity
• Nyama Ya Mai – Water spirit; responsible for
water accidents
• Belief that disembodied spirits dwell in the
forest

31. Religious Ritual: Prayer and Offerings
• The Mbuti worship the Ituri Forest, pray to the
forest, and give thanks for its protection and
its provision.

32. Reverence and Honor
• The Bambuti hold deep reverence for nature,
especially the forest that they dwell in.

33. The Church Among the Bambuti
• Though attempts have been made to minister
to the Bambuti, little conversion has been
accomplished
• There has been no Bible translations made in
the Bambuti languages.
• Scripture distribution is difficult due to the
impenetrable nature of the forest.

34. How to Pray
• That Jesus would reveal Himself in a bold way
to the Bambuti
• That there would be healing and forgiveness
for the deep wounds that have been made to
the Bambuti people
• That the Lord would make a way for Scripture
to be distributed

35. Sources
http://www.ucc.uconn.edu/~epsadm03/mbuti.html
http://www.everyculture.com/wc/Brazil-to-Congo-Republic-of/Efe-and-Mbuti.html
http://www.helium.com/items/1666258-the-history-of-the-bambuti
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/africa/extermination--of-the-pygmies-6166051.html
http://www.culturalsurvival.org/publications/cultural-survival-quarterly/democractic-republic-
congo/mbuti-zaire
http://www.eoearth.org/article/Okapi_Faunal_Reserve,_Democratic_Republic_of_Congo
http://www.komonews.com/news/national/97733989.html
http://stirling.kent.ac.uk/sac/fw47/Comparative%20analysis.html
http://roadsandkingdoms.com/2012/mbuti/
http://ishk.com/forest_people.pdf
http://www.halfmoonbaymemories.com/?p=7509
http://www.worldmissioncentre.com/MBUTI.html