The Forest People

Turnbull relates how the lives of the Pygmies continue with hunting and gathering, and at night, the molimo festivities take place. He makes note of the basket that is used to gather offerings for the molimo. Though the villagers might see the act as sacrilege or meaningless, the BaMbuti do not. Turnbull explains how different the two are concerning the molimo. The villagers view the molimo as magic and ritual. They believe that the act itself will bring about some mysterious end. The BaMbuti, on the other hand, believe that it is the belief that counts. In this way, the molimo itself is not the important thing but what they believe in relation to the forest.

Turnbull mentions his encounter with an elima celebration for Kondabate, Masalito’s daughter. The elima is a custom that signifies a woman’s maturity, and is conducted when a woman begins her cycle for the first time. An extension is made on a hut, and the girl is placed there with all her friends. Turnbull notes that an old man and woman arrive at the camp. They greet a few people, seeming to be well known; then the old woman goes to the elima house. Turnbull hears singing for the rest of the night and is surprised when he hears songs that sound like molimo songs. The old man joins the men at night around the fire. The girls join them for a bit until they are eventually sent to bed.

In the morning, the molimo enters the camp again and, though Turnbull tries to exit his hut to see what is going on, he is pushed back inside. He is told the ceremony is too dangerous, and he soon sees why. The molimo sets about destroying everything in its path, and the dancers lash out at the ground with spears, unconcerned with who might be near them. That night, the girls build their own fire, and Turnbull watches as a strange dance takes place where the old woman dances opposite Kondabate, and then the woman attacks the men’s fire and attempts to put it out. It is a strange dance, and Turnbull notes how some say the molimo was first owned by women and that men had stolen it. Perhaps this dance is a reenactment of that. The old woman eventually destroys the fire of the men and binds them. They must then give her gifts to be unbound.

After the dance, people discuss when to end the molimo. It is eventually agreed that the elima will be brought to the village, as the villagers will provide food and like to see the BaMbuti “obeying” their rules. This decision, however, depresses everyone. Pygmies do not like village life. Turnbull is shocked that they will bring the molimo into the village, though he is reassured that the villagers will not see the molimo or hear the sacred forest songs. The Pygmies will simply put on a show to dupe the villagers for food. They do this, but do not like the oppressive air of the village. The men and women are tired, though in this way the molimo comes to an end three months after it began. Though the molimo ends, the women and girls are delighted because the elima has just begun. 

Turnbull chronicles how very different the world of the village is compared to the world of the forest. In the first week that the Pygmies are back in the village, they and Turnbull feel sullen and depressed by the atmosphere. There are always fights in the Negro village. These are violent fights, often leading to fistfights. Even the Pygmies quarrel in the oppressive atmosphere. In the very early hours, Turnbull feels and welcomes a sense of the forest, but then the oppressive nature of the village takes over.

Turnbull explains the different types of villages and Negro tribes in the area surrounding the Epulu River. There is the old village of Camp Putnam, where tourists now come to view the Pygmies and tribes. They also view the animals on display at the Station de Chasse. Dar es Salaam is to the west. Turnbull notes that its inhabitants are all descendants of the terrible BaNgwana. All the other tribes fear the BaNgwana for their practice of witchcraft and sorcery. They are also hated for their active part in aiding the slave traders. Musafili is the headman of Dar es Salaam. The village Eboyo houses the BaBira tribe. Turnbull notes that all the villages treat Pygmies as property and treat the forest as property to be conquered and owned. Turnbull points out that, contrary to popular belief, it is next to impossible for the villagers to force the Pygmies to do anything, especially if the hunting is good. The supposed dependence is in fact mutual convenience, with each side gaining something from the other.

Turnbull outlines the allegiances between Pygmy families and Negro families. Each Pygmy male is aligned with a Negro male, and offers assistance when needed. This is usually upended when Pygmies return to the forest for hunting. But when they return to the village, they return to aid their “masters.” Turnbull tells of his journey to meet Kaweki, a BaBira man who lives in the forest. Kaweki is disliked by his fellow tribesman because he lives in the forest like a Pygmy. Kaweki traps fish and loves to live alone; the Pygmies respect him as one of their own and consider him a child of the forest because he respects the forest. He dislikes visitors. However, despite Kaweki being ill and not wanting a visitor, Turnbull visits him. The Pygmies visit and restore Kaweki to health. They sing songs of thanks, and praise the molimo for healing Kaweki. Turnbull is astonished because Kaweki is not a Pygmy. Since he loves the forest, the Pygmies feel safe singing in his presence.