I have learned so much about
Pygmies and their religion through out my field research. The BaMbuti view the forest as their
God. They love the darkness of the
forest and they believe that the forest is good, without any evil. When bad things happen they believe that is
because they forest is sleeping. When
the forest is sleeping the men go and get the Molimo. The Molimo used to be the women’s according
to legend but now the men are in charge of it.
The Molimo used to be made out of wood from the Molimo tree but the
steel pipe makes a better sound and it doesn’t rot. While the men dance and try to cheer up the
forest they blow the Molimo and sing., in order to cheer up the forest. The women have to go into their huts and
pretend like they think the Molimo is a real animal. The people believe that the forest is their
God and they are the children of the forest.
They are grateful for the food, clothes, water, shelter etc. that they
forest provides them. The people believe
that evil if it does exist can only exist outside of the forest and they do not
want the influence of the different villages witchcraft. From a
Functionalist Anthropology perspective the people all believe in the forest as
God individually so that they can maintain they culture and thrive in the
forest. I found this theory to be really
valuable because it forced me to think about each individual and what they needed to do in order to survive. The role of culture is to meet the needs of the individual and this culture allowed the needs of the individual to be met. The BaMbuti are a band society and rely on each other for hunting and the women and men are both greatly needed in the culture. Culture is a set of tools that allow them to adapt to their environment so that they can survive, eat, and propagate. I would not change my theory.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Chapter 15 The Dream World
Chapter 15 The Dream World
Observations:
- The Pygmies love honey.
- The plantations brought danger to the Pygmies.
- The Pygmies tell the villagers about the evil spirits in the forest so they do not go and collect their honey.
- The Pygmies split up and some went deeper in the forest and wanted nothing to do with the villagers anymore.
- They built a new camp called Apa Toangbe (special kind of honey tree).
- Kenge and Turnbull made Lizabeti crutches since she was crippled. The kids in the camp were all playing with them.
Religion:
- The forest is good but once in the village they would be around in influence of witchcraft.
From a Functionalist Anthropology perspective the people all want to survive and in order to do so they have to figure out what type of lifestyle is best for them. Each person had to decide for themselves if they wanted to live in the village or in the forest. Many enjoyed the luxuries such as tobacco and trendy clothes found in the village. Others believed that the village was unpractical due to the water supply, the lack of shade, and the amount of disease there that they were not immune to. Each person had to decide what was best for them in order to survive.
In regards to religion the Pygmies want to avoid the influence of witchcraft in the villages. I do not know if they believe in it, I do think that they believe that evil does not exist in the forest but only in the village.
Observations:
- The Pygmies love honey.
- The plantations brought danger to the Pygmies.
- The Pygmies tell the villagers about the evil spirits in the forest so they do not go and collect their honey.
- The Pygmies split up and some went deeper in the forest and wanted nothing to do with the villagers anymore.
- They built a new camp called Apa Toangbe (special kind of honey tree).
- Kenge and Turnbull made Lizabeti crutches since she was crippled. The kids in the camp were all playing with them.
Religion:
- The forest is good but once in the village they would be around in influence of witchcraft.
From a Functionalist Anthropology perspective the people all want to survive and in order to do so they have to figure out what type of lifestyle is best for them. Each person had to decide for themselves if they wanted to live in the village or in the forest. Many enjoyed the luxuries such as tobacco and trendy clothes found in the village. Others believed that the village was unpractical due to the water supply, the lack of shade, and the amount of disease there that they were not immune to. Each person had to decide what was best for them in order to survive.
In regards to religion the Pygmies want to avoid the influence of witchcraft in the villages. I do not know if they believe in it, I do think that they believe that evil does not exist in the forest but only in the village.
Chapter 14 The World Beyond
Chapter 14 The World Beyond
Observations:
- Kenge, Turnbull and I headed toward the plains.
- The cook did not want Kenge eating in the guest house because he considered him to be indigenes. We all ate on the kitchen floor instead.
- We traveled into the plains and then back into the forest.
- The people of the forest are unable to adapt to a life outside the forest. They need the shade other wise many get heat stroke and they are not able to fight off outside diseases.
There was not much about religion in this chapter other than the different missions they came in contract with on their journey.
There was not much about religion in this chapter other than the different missions they came in contract with on their journey.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
Chapter 13 Forest Horizons
Chapter 13 Forest Horizons
- Kenge and Turnbull and I traveled to other villages to express that the Pygmies are not savages. When they met Kachui they tried to talk to the Pygmies there but they did not say anything bad in front of the villagers. Kenge would pull the Pygmies aside and talk to them.
- The BoMbo and Babali were known for cannibalism. They too said they could not control the Pygmies.
- All the villages complained abut the Pygmies saying they ate all their food and worked little.
- The Mabudo tribe seemed to have a more realistic attidtute and outlook towards to Pygmie. They gave them the first fruits and gave milk and honey to visitors because they recognized that they had been there longer.
- BaLese are considered to be arch-soceres as well as witches. Kenge didn't really want to stay in their village of Chief Lupao. They were not hospitable and the two slept in the car fearful.
- They next traveled to a catholic mission where they ate and bathed.
-Lese chief Nakubai allowed the men to meet the pygmies and he did not follow them or have them followed. We learned so much on this trip in particular.
Kenge was introduced to Jesus Christ on this trip. He did not seem to really believe in Jesus Christ at all. I do not know how to interpret all this from a Functionalist Perspective other then they moved village to village to learn more about other Pygmies in the forest and they were conserved at times with their own individual survival.
- Kenge and Turnbull and I traveled to other villages to express that the Pygmies are not savages. When they met Kachui they tried to talk to the Pygmies there but they did not say anything bad in front of the villagers. Kenge would pull the Pygmies aside and talk to them.
- The BoMbo and Babali were known for cannibalism. They too said they could not control the Pygmies.
- All the villages complained abut the Pygmies saying they ate all their food and worked little.
- The Mabudo tribe seemed to have a more realistic attidtute and outlook towards to Pygmie. They gave them the first fruits and gave milk and honey to visitors because they recognized that they had been there longer.
- BaLese are considered to be arch-soceres as well as witches. Kenge didn't really want to stay in their village of Chief Lupao. They were not hospitable and the two slept in the car fearful.
- They next traveled to a catholic mission where they ate and bathed.
-Lese chief Nakubai allowed the men to meet the pygmies and he did not follow them or have them followed. We learned so much on this trip in particular.
Kenge was introduced to Jesus Christ on this trip. He did not seem to really believe in Jesus Christ at all. I do not know how to interpret all this from a Functionalist Perspective other then they moved village to village to learn more about other Pygmies in the forest and they were conserved at times with their own individual survival.
Chapter 12 Village Initiations and Magic
Chapter 12 Village Initiations and Magic
Religion/Observations
- The Pygmy only believed in evil when it involved the villagers.
- The Pygmy followed the customs of the Negros for the initiation but sometimes they sneakily worked around their traditions.
- Aberi thought he would die because of a curse put on him. The Pygmies that had been curses with Aberi died as we'll as him.
The people believed in evil spirits only when it involved a villager coming to their village or the village outside the forest. Aberi and the Pygmie whom were also cursed died soon after they were cursed but the Pygmies comforted those affected by the death instead of pointing the deaths at the curse.
Religion/Observations
- The Pygmy only believed in evil when it involved the villagers.
- The Pygmy followed the customs of the Negros for the initiation but sometimes they sneakily worked around their traditions.
- Aberi thought he would die because of a curse put on him. The Pygmies that had been curses with Aberi died as we'll as him.
The people believed in evil spirits only when it involved a villager coming to their village or the village outside the forest. Aberi and the Pygmie whom were also cursed died soon after they were cursed but the Pygmies comforted those affected by the death instead of pointing the deaths at the curse.
Chapter 11 The Marriage of Kenge
Chapter 11 The Marriage of Kenge
Observations:
- The villagers try to control the Pygmies in making sure they are married according to the Negro custom. The Pygmies don't necessary take the village wedding as "seriously" as the Negros do. They sanctify a marriage in their own way later.
Yambobo was basically humiliated enough to be forced to marry Taphu and Maliamo married Kenge. Kenge had to give his sister to Taphu in order to marry Maliamo.
This chapter did not really speak much about religion.
From a functional anthropologist perspective the people see marrying as a essential way to survive. Kenge knew he wanted to marry Maliamo and he allowed his sister to be beaten and humiliated in order to convince her to marry Taphu so he could get married. The people do what they need to in order to survive as an individual.
Turnbull with the Mbuti children in 1953
Chapter 10 Elima: the Dance of Life
Chapter 10 Elima The Dance of Life
Observations:
- The Elima is celebrated by the Pgymy unlike the other tribes in the area. When a girl bleeds for the first time it is seen as a gift that should be received with rejoicing and thankfulness. Everybody in the tribe is told the wonderful news. The girl goes in the house of the elima and the girls celebrate together. They learn new songs together and they learn how to do women like activities. The girls would center in on a particular boy when they danced and sometimes the boys ran away, if they ran they were whipped by the girls. The girls chased the boys with whips and stones in the village.
- When women get married they marry the guy and move to another camp.
- If a boy is to win over a girl he must get into the Elima (it is guarded by moms with admonition), he risks getting beaten by the girls inside especially if he has not already been invited by being previously beaten, then he has to kill a large animal and then he may spend time with the girl if she so chooses. They may just flirt or they may have sex before they are betrothed.
- The girls chose pretty leaves instead of the traditional leaves.
Religion:
- The book mentions that ancestors would come to the feast and when the evil spirits hovered around the unclean girls the ancestors would drive them away.
This chapter did not have overwhelming amounts of religion in it. I was slightly confused by the part that mentioned the ancestors coming to the feast and warding away the hovering evil spirits over the unclean girls. I wonder if I will learn more about this as I continue to read. Coming for a Functional Anthropologist perspective I think that each girl participates in this Elima activity in order to receive a future husband and be able to survive in the future. Is it survival or simply just cultural expectations that drive these girls? I do not yet know.
Observations:
- The Elima is celebrated by the Pgymy unlike the other tribes in the area. When a girl bleeds for the first time it is seen as a gift that should be received with rejoicing and thankfulness. Everybody in the tribe is told the wonderful news. The girl goes in the house of the elima and the girls celebrate together. They learn new songs together and they learn how to do women like activities. The girls would center in on a particular boy when they danced and sometimes the boys ran away, if they ran they were whipped by the girls. The girls chased the boys with whips and stones in the village.
- When women get married they marry the guy and move to another camp.
- If a boy is to win over a girl he must get into the Elima (it is guarded by moms with admonition), he risks getting beaten by the girls inside especially if he has not already been invited by being previously beaten, then he has to kill a large animal and then he may spend time with the girl if she so chooses. They may just flirt or they may have sex before they are betrothed.
- The girls chose pretty leaves instead of the traditional leaves.
Religion:
- The book mentions that ancestors would come to the feast and when the evil spirits hovered around the unclean girls the ancestors would drive them away.
This chapter did not have overwhelming amounts of religion in it. I was slightly confused by the part that mentioned the ancestors coming to the feast and warding away the hovering evil spirits over the unclean girls. I wonder if I will learn more about this as I continue to read. Coming for a Functional Anthropologist perspective I think that each girl participates in this Elima activity in order to receive a future husband and be able to survive in the future. Is it survival or simply just cultural expectations that drive these girls? I do not yet know.
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