An Examination of the Hunting-Dependent Life of the Mbuti Pygmies, Eastern Zaire

Abstract

The possibility of a hunting-dependent life by the Mbuti Pygmies in the Ituri Forest is examined, and ecological and sociological conditions of such a life are discussed. It is concluded that, without the symbiolic partners providing the Mbuti with farm foods, a hunting-dependent life in the Ituri Forest would be quite hard and require much more effort in the subsistence activities than that made by the present-day Mbuti, although it would not be impossible from calorific viewpoint. Stable meat supply, which is pointed out here to be indispensable to a hunting-dependent life, is facilitated by such ecological and sociological conditions as abundant small to meduim-sized game animals, their random distribution in the forest, strong correlation between effort and return in hunting, and frequent meat sharing among the band members based on the principle of generalized reciprocity.