Mbuti Lifestyle Essay

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Mbuti: More Than a People, It is a Lifestyle Tyana Ingram ANT101: Introduction to Cultural Anthropology June 27, 2011 The Mbuti or Bambuti are a group of foragers from the Congo area of Africa, who borrow their language of choice from Central Sudanic and Bantu. Foragers are people who travel from place to place in search of food and supplies as a means of survival. There are three major components that contribute to the survival and existence of the Mbuti: social organization, economic organization, and beliefs and values. Without these three major components contributing to their existence, the Mbuti could ultimately become extinct. Social organization, economic organization, and their beliefs and values all coincide and work together to create harmony within the band societies. Social organization is very important to foraging societies like the Mbuti who are a part of band societies, which are small mobile groups of people who travel to various environments as a means of survival. Descent and marriage are the key principles to the existence of the Mbuti, because it helps keep unity between the different families that live amongst each other. The nuclear family bloodline, which are composed of a mother, father, and their offspring, is most commonly used amongst foragers like Mbuti. Patrilineal is the descent that comes from ones ancestry through male procreation, and patrilocal is when young married couples lives with the husband’s parents and raise their children. In foraging bands, there are two forms of acceptable ways to marry: monogamy and polygamy. Monogamy is the marital bond between one man and one woman, and polygamy is when a person has more then one spouse. If a bride is too young to leave her family, then the groom moves in with the family, and contributes to the daily meat intake, which is a form of bride service. A couple is only considered

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