Hunting of the Boyela, Slash-and-Burn Agriculturalists, in the Central Zaire Forest

Abstract

The hunting techniques and activities of the Boyela, slash-and-burn agriculturalists in the central Zaire Forest, are described and analyzed in this paper. The meat which the hunting provides is the primary protein source for the Boyela who depend on cassava tubers with a very low protein content for the bulk of their diet. Hunting, besides agriculture, is one of their major substance activities. The Boyela hunters mainly hunt by drive and ambush methods, using bows and arrows, nets, and traps which are well adapted to the forest environment. However, they are characterized as trappers, having developed an elaborate trapping technology. As the Boyela hunters are engaged in agricultural activities, they are restricted to part-time hunting within a small area around their settlements and fields; however, the people's demand for meat is not small. It is inferred that in order to resolve this problem, they have adopted trapping, which is the most efficient in terms of labor-input, as the principal hunting activity, have made many technological innovations, and have occasionally conducted hunting trips deep into the usual hunting range, leaving their home base.