Food Restrictions of the Mbuti Pygmies, Eastern Zaire

Abstract

While the Mbuti Pygmies utilize more than 300 animal and plant species as their food, only 60% are eaten freely by anybody without restriction. Of the remaining 40% avoided by the Mbuti for various reasons, more than 85% are the animals (including a few plants) which, called kweri in general, are conditionally restricted. These animals are thought to be dangerous, because the Mbuti think they may cause diseases or other disorders to the person who eats them, to his or her small child, or even to the unborn baby. All the Mbuti are not affected by the kweri. Newborns, infants, and those in the initiation period are thought to be specially susceptible. The general tendency is that the restriction for these animals is relaxed as one grows old. The diseases caused by kweri, their prevention and cure, and the characteristics of these "dangerous" animals are described and analysed. It is suggested that the food restriction provides us with a clue to an understanding of the Mbuti's concepts of diseases and eating food.