Mbuti People Essay

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Ashlie Thompson Mbuti of the Ituri Forest ANT101 Michelle Rogers December 7, 2010 The Mbuti people are somewhat of a primitive type. These people live in the forest as foragers; hunting and gathering from the forest because they believe it is the center of all that is their life. These people have remained in the basics of humanity; they survive off of what nature provides them. There are no social classes or measurements of wealth; the Mbuti simply carry out their lives as families in tribes. Overall, the Mbuti are a peaceful culture living as one with nature. Primary Mode of Subsistence The diet of the Mbuti people consists mostly of meat. In fact, it is reported that the Mbuti consume more meat than any other group of tropical hunters (Walker & Hewlett, 1990). They are hunters and gatherers and they do not grow their own food. Because of this the percentage of meat that they eat depends on the time of year and what is currently available. Some seasons offer more vegetation to gather than others. One month out of the year, June, 80% of the Mbuti diet consists of honey (Walker & Hewlett, 1009). Because of their diet it is necessary for the Mbuti to move frequently in order to find new areas for sources of food. It is important that they leave some resources intact however, so that it can regenerate and they can return later on (Nowak & Laird, 2010). In order to supplement their diet the Mbuti do occasionally trade with farmers from other villages in order to obtain vegetables and other carbohydrates. A unique feature of the Mbuti people is that they continue to use nets for hunting unlike most other hunters who continue to use other tools such as the bow and arrow. Net hunting is accomplished by using several people to herd game into a designated spot where a net is used to capture them. This has fascinated anthropologists and some have

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