18. Elephant Hunting by the Mbuti Hunter- Gatherers in the Eastern Congo Basin

18. ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER- GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN

Mitsuo Ichikawa1,*

1Center for African Area Studies, Kyoto University, Sakyo, Kyoto, 606-8501, Japan *[email protected]

https://dx.doi.org/10.15496/publikation-55581

KEYWORDS | elephants; spear hunting; batuma; success rate; meat distribution; festive consumption

ABSTRACT and huge quantity of meat supply in a successful hunt, elephant hunting provided the Mbuti with Mbuti hunter-gatherers in the Ituri forest of the exciting experiences with rich ritual performances eastern Congo Basin have been known as elephant and festive meat consumption, and gave a strong hunters since the colonial period. Tey provided accent to the otherwise monotonous hunting life the colonial agents with ivory, and supplied meat in the forest. for local mining and plantation workers, as well as for their own consumption. In this study, I present ethnography of the Mbuti elephant (Lox- 18.1 INTRODUCTION odonta cyclotis) hunting practiced during my feld research in the 1970s and 1980s, including the de- African forest elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) hunt- scription of hunting method with spears, hunting ing by the Mbuti in the Ituri Forest of the Dem- party and success rate, distribution of meat, and ocratic Republic of Congo (former Zaire) has festive nature of meat consumption. Although the already been described by several authors. Paul elephant hunting provided almost as much meat Schebesta, a Catholic Father and ethnologist, de- (6–7 tonnes of live weight/year for a group of 50 scribed briefy elephant hunting carried out by the people) like other types of hunting aiming at me- Mbuti (Schebesta, 1933). Putnam (1948), who dium to small-sized antelopes and monkeys, the spent many years in Epulu, central Ituri, gave a success rate of the elephant hunt was very low. In four-page description on elephant hunting and contrast to the stable yields of meat from hunt- associating rituals. Turnbull (1965) also described ing for smaller animals, elephant hunting was suc- it briefy, though it seems he did not observe di- cessful only a few times a year, mainly by skilled rectly the elephant hunt. Coon (1972) gave ac- hunters called batuma, with their courage and luck. counts of elephant hunting methods by the Akoa For such unstable nature, with its low success rate in Gabon, Efe and Mbuti in Congo, citing the

Konidaris, G. E., Barkai, R., Tourloukis, V., Harvati, K. (Eds.), Human-elephant interactions: from past to present. Tübingen University Press, Tübingen 2021. http://dx.doi.org/10.15496/publikation-55604 456 MITSUO ICHIKAWA works of Trilles (1932) and Putnam (1948). More Te principal hunting methods of the Mbuti in recently, Dufy (1984) gave an on the spot obser- central Ituri are collective net hunting, bow-and- vation of hunting and butchering of an elephant arrow hunting, and spear hunting. Unlike their by the Mbuti, in his book of “Children of the neighboring agriculturalists and Pygmy groups in Forest”. Harako (1976) and Bahuchet (1985) other regions, they rarely used snares in the 1970’s reported also on the elephant hunting by the and 1980’s when I conducted my research. Net Mbuti and Aka Pygmies of Central Africa. In a hunting is adapted to the forest environment with study of prehistoric and contemporary mammoth poor visibility, and carried out for capturing small- and elephant hunting, Agam and Barkai (2018) to medium-sized animals, in particular forest dui- reviewed various elephant hunting methods em- kers (weighing from 3–25 kg), which are driven ployed by contemporary hunter-gatherers. Tere from the bush toward the net enclosure. Bow-and- is also a flm on elephant hunting by the Mbuti arrow hunting aims at hunting arboreal monkeys, in Ituri, taken by Japanese television team (NTV, which are shot with poisoned arrows. Te arrow 1972). However, most of these contain only brief poison is made from various forest plants, which descriptions of hunting methods, and ritual and are mixed and pounded, and the black liquid festive characteristics of elephant hunting and squeezed from the plants is applied to the arrows meat consumption. Only one example, witnessed made of rafa palm axes. With spears, they aim by Dufy, was based on the observation of actual at hunting larger-sized animals, such as bush pigs, cases of successful hunt. I will mainly focus here giant forest hogs, bufaloes and elephants (Harako, on the hunting method, success rate, and meat 1976). Te major hunting methods of the Efe in distribution patterns, and festive nature of meat northern Ituri are bow-and-arrow hunting, in par- consumption among the Mbuti, which I studied ticular collective hunting called mota, which is also during my feldwork in the Ituri Forest of the adapted to the dense forest environment. It aims at Democratic Republic of Congo from 1974 to shooting duikers driven from the bush with arrows 1975 and from 1980 to 1981. with iron tips. Solitary hunting is also common Te Ituri forest is situated in the northeastern for shooting monkeys in a tree with poisoned ar- part of the present-day Democratic Republic of rows. Spear hunting is carried out for larger tar- Congo (DRC, former Zaire) and covers the area gets. While both the Mbuti and Efe had formerly of approximately 100,000 km2. Te vegetation is used spears borrowed from the Bantu or Sudanic dominated by evergreen dense forests with closed agricultural villagers, who had become the owner canopy, consisting of Caesalpiniaceae, in particular, of the animals killed with the spears, most of the mixed forests of Julbernardia seretti and Cynome- Mbuti and Efe hunters had their own spears when tra alexandri, and single-dominant forest of mbau, the research was conducted in 1970s. Gilbertiodendron dewevrei (Itani, 1974; Harako, We do not know when the Mbuti started el- 1976). Tere are about 30,000 to 40,000 hunt- ephant hunting. According to the information er-gatherer people, called Mbuti, Efe and other given by a British ex-prisoner of Portuguese, ele- names in the region (Harako, 1976). Te Mbuti phant hunting had already been practiced by the belong to a Bantu-speaking group and live in the hunter-gatherers in the present-day Gabon in early central, southern and western parts of the forest, 1600’s (Schlichter, 1892; Kitanishi, 2012). Dapper whereas the Efe are Sudanic-speakers, living in (1686; cited in Kitanishi, 2012) also mentioned the northern and eastern parts of the forest. Both about the “dwarfs”, who hunted elephants and groups have been in close economic and social traded ivory. In a study of central African histo- relationships with the neighboring agricultural ry, Klieman (2003) wrote that elephant ivory had groups who speak similar languages with the re- comprised one of the important items for the spective hunter-gatherer groups. Atlantic trade since the contacts with European ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER-GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN 457 in the 17th century. In the Ituri forest of DRC, ry was then one of the major export items from which is far from the Atlantic coast, elephant the forests in this region, together with wild rub- hunting probably had not become a major hunt- ber, which was often called “red rubber” for the ing practice until relatively recently. An old Mbuti bloody nature of quota system (Stengers and Van- man once told me that they had formerly hunted sina, 1985; Jewsiewicki, 1983; Hochschild, 1998). mainly bush pigs and other smaller mammals with According to the Mbuti elders, they moved to spears, and that they began hunting elephants fre- the forest near the trading posts, and hunted ele- quently as the demands for ivory increased. Prob- phants actively. When they killed an elephant, they ably, it was during the time of arrival of Arab trad- brought the tusks to their Bantu patrons, who sold ers in the 19th century when the Mbuti started them to the traders. Te Mbuti then obtained salt, elephant hunting actively. It was then accelerated tobacco, clothes and agricultural food from the vil- under the Belgian rule. Te travelers to this region lagers. Te photograph taken at Mawambi trading in late 19th century mentioned briefy on the ele- post (now deserted) on the right bank of Ituri Riv- phant hunting by various “Pygmy” groups (Stanley, er illustrates the scene of weighing the rubber and 1890; Cassati, 1891; Parke, 1891). ivory. It was taken by a British explorer, Captain It is understandable that they had not attempt- Powell-Cotton, on his honeymoon journey to the ed at elephant hunting frequently in former days, Ituri Forest (Powell-Cotton, 1907). because it was a dangerous work [as reported also by Lewis (this volume)], whereas there were other, smaller animals, which could be easily hunted in 18.2 HUNTING METHOD the forest. I was informed that a Mbuti man of the group I studied had been killed by an elephant Hunting elephants is a difcult task. A photograph during the hunt. Schebesta (1933, 1936b) also re- showing elephants stuck in a mud pool may give us ported an example of a Mbuti hunter killed by an an idea of how elephants were killed in prehistoric elephant, and another example of serious injury. times. Te elephants cannot get out of the pool He then expressed his concern about the Mbuti by themselves, because of their heavy weight. Te hunters, who were driven to hunt elephants by the prehistoric hunters may have hunted the elephants request of a Bantu chief seeking for ivory. that were similarly stuck in the muds. Du Chail- However, as elephant hunting became popu- lu (1867) described the elephant hunting by the lar, the motivation for it was gradually internalized Fang, Bantu–speaking farmers in equatorial Africa. within the Mbuti themselves. Elephant hunting Tey made liana tangles on the elephant trails in risked a hunter’s life, whereas it provided a huge the forest. When an elephant was entangled, it was quantity of meat when successful. As such, ele- killed with spear traps, called hanou, falling logs phant hunting became a practice associated with with spear points, hung high up in the air. A sim- rich ritual performances and social signifcance, as ilar falling spear traps were also used by the Bantu described by various authors (e.g., Trilles, 1932; agriculturalists in the Ituri forest of Congo. Babali Schebesta, 1936a; Putnam, 1948; Turnbull, 1965; hunters set a heavy spear trap, with an iron head Harako, 1976; Lewis, 2002). Te success of ele- of one foot long and a thick shaft of 6–9 feet, sus- phant hunting may also have given a sense of ac- pended in the air at a height of 15 feet (Schebesta, complishment to the hunter, even though he could 1936a). A diferent type of falling spear trap was not gain prestige in the egalitarian Mbuti society. once used by the Suiei Dorobo hunters in north- In early 20th century, the Mbuti became ern Kenya. Te trap is called lkerenget, and the known to Western society as brave elephant hunt- poison made from the root of Acokanthera (called ers, who hunt the largest terrestrial mammals with morijoi), a shrub genus belonging to Apocynace- spears, sometimes a single hunter by himself. Ivo- ae, is applied to a small spear point. Te Dorobo 458 MITSUO ICHIKAWA

Figure 18.1: A, Lkerenget, falling spear; B, Lkerenget trap set in the air. Photos by M. Ichikawa. hunters set the trap on the elephant’s trail. A heavy other hand, the Efe (Sudanic-speaking group) in weight of Commiphora wood, with a poisoned iron northern Ituri use smaller spears and try to stab the spear, is hung in the air with a liana cord, over the backside of knees to immobilize the elephant (Fig. branch of a high tree. Te cord is then set across 18.2b). Both techniques are efective, because an the elephant’s trail. When an elephant pushes the elephant with an injured hind leg cannot support cord, the trigger is released and the poisoned spear its heavy weight to walk or run fast. Otherwise, point with heavy weight falls on the back of the the contents of intestines come out when the spear elephant (Fig. 18.1a, b). penetrates the elephant’s abdomen properly, which Te Mbuti hunters in the Ituri forest of Con- soon leads to peritonitis. go Basin, however, did not use these traps when Te spearhead of the Mbuti is 8–10 cm wide I stayed there in 1970s and 1980s. Tey neither and 40–50 cm long, and attached to a strong used pit falls or trenches, which had been used by wooden shaft. Te blade is razor-sharpened with their neighboring Babali and other Bantu-speak- a stone. Te spears are thrown for hunting bufa- ing cultivators (Schebesta, 1936a). Elephants were loes, bush pigs and other smaller animals from a always hunted with spears by the Mbuti. Accord- distance of several meters. For elephants, however, ing to Turnbull (1965), when metal spears had they approach close enough to the elephants and not been available, the Mbuti asserted that they try to stab the softer part of the lower abdomen. had hunted elephants with fre-hardened wooden Elephant hunting is carried out either by a spears. When I asked the Mbuti hunters about this, large group of hunters or by a few hunters, but they said that it was impossible. I think it is ex- there is always at least one experienced specialist tremely difcult to pierce the elephant thick skins called mtuma (or batuma in plural form), which with wooden spears, unless the elephant comes to is a common word throughout the central African a complete stop, and waiting for a hunter to spear, Pygmy societies, and suggests wide-spread practice for example extremely exhausted by enduring pur- of elephant hunting in the central African forests. suit or stuck in a mud pool. While a large group may be formed for hunting el- Te Mbuti in central and southern part of ephants, which happen to be found near the forest Ituri, who speak Bantu language, use spears with camp, elephant hunting in the Teturi area, where I extremely large spearhead and try to stab the low- conducted my research, was mostly carried out in a er abdomen of the elephants (Fig. 18.2a). On the remote forest by a small number of hunters, some- ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER-GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN 459

Figure 18.2: A, spear used by the Mbuti hunters; B, spears used by the Efe hunters. Photos by M. Ichikawa. times even by a single hunter (mtuma). A mtuma and other vegetable food in the forest, and sleep is often accompanied by one or two young men, by the fre made of the brand, which was carefully his younger brother, son or nephew, as apprentice protected from dying out during the search. or assistant doing daily chores. Tese young men Elephants frequently visit muddy marshes, usually do not attempt to spear an elephant. Te called lako (muddy pool) or potolo (marshland), Mbuti in my study area did not use dogs for hunt- where the hunters often fnd fresh traces of ele- ing elephants. For hunting other animals, such as phants. If they fnd there fresh trace of elephants, bufaloes and bush pigs, dogs play important roles called maikpada, they carefully track the animals, in tracking the target animals, stopping them when approach the animal from leeward while it is they catch up, and distracting the animal’s atten- feeding. If the hunter successfully gets under the tion from hunters. However, the Mbuti say dogs abdomen, he thrusts the spear through, and run are useless for hunting elephants, because the ele- away quickly and hides himself behind a big tree phants easily notice the presence of dogs and hunt- or squat down and stay still, so that the elephant ers, which makes the approach extremely difcult. with poor eyesight may not see him. Te young Te hunters go into the interior forest to men accompanying the mtuma try to distract the search for elephants, carrying with them spears, ax, attention of the elephant from a safe place, partic- fre brand, but often without food. Tey search for ularly when the hunt fails. fresh traces of elephants for several days, living on Once the spearhead enters deep into the ab- wild honey extracted from natural hives, wild yams dominal cavity, it cuts the intestines as the fright- 460 MITSUO ICHIKAWA

Case Date Number of participants Number of days spent hunting Catch 1 March 1973 17 1 1 bushpig 2 April 1973 3 1 1 bushpig 3 May 1973 17 1 1 buffalo 4 May 1973 17 1 1 buffalo 5 June 1973 group* 1 0 6 June 1973 group* 1 0 7 June 1973 3 1 0 8 June 1973 1 1 0 9 June 1973 1 1 0 10 June 1973 3 1 1 okapi

Table 18.1: Record of elephant hunting at Lolwa, central Ituri Forest (data from Harako, 1976); *, the number of participants is unknown. ened elephant dashes in the bush. As the spear the elephant, or the spear may not enter into the shaft strikes the trees and branches, the razor body deep enough. sharp blade in the abdomen further cut the intestines. Te elephant quickly loose power when the contents of intestines come out. Te hunter 18.3 SUCCESS RATE tracks the animal to give a fnishing stab. It takes several hours to a day or two, from the frst stab to According to Harako (1976), who reported on the fnal kill. If the spear does not enter the body spear hunting at Lolwa, central Ituri region, el- deep enough, for example, less than 10 cm deep, ephant hunting was conducted either in large or and no sign of fatal damage (blood or contents of small groups. A large hunting group was com- intestines) are found, they would not pursue the prised of two components; frst spear givers com- target. posed of adult hunters, including batuma, and However, it is more often the case that hunters assisting group, or apprentices of young hunters, are noticed by elephants before approaching close who carry food packed with leaves, called musaba, enough and the elephant runs away. When I ac- leftovers of breakfast, to eat on the way. During companied the Mbuti hunters in elephant hunt- the fve-month research by Harako in 1973, a total ing, they were very sensitive about the scent of my of ten attempts, of which fve were by large groups clothes. When the target got away, they often com- of more than 10 men, were made. Te results were plained about my clothes, saying that the elephant two kills each of bush pigs and bufaloes, and one noticed the smell of soap of my clothes, even when of okapi, but they could not kill their major target, I had been wearing the same clothes for more than an elephant (Table 18.1). When they encounter a week after washing. Tey often smear their body other animals while searching for elephants, they with muds, or elephant dung, so that the elephant will of course, try to hunt them. may not notice their smell. Tey also smear the During my research for a total of 15 months charcoals of certain forest plants, which they say from 1974 to 1975, and from 1980 to 1981, ele- make their body invisible to the elephants. Te phant hunting took place in small groups of two charcoals are also rubbed into incisions made on to four hunters, always led by an experienced the leg, which, they say, enables them to run fast elephant hunter (mtuma). Out of six hunts at- in the forest. However, even when they could get tempted during ten months from 1974 to 1975, close to the elephant, the hunter may fail to stab they succeeded in killing an elephant only once, ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER-GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN 461

Case Date Number of participants Number of days Catch spent hunting 1 October 1974 4 3 elephant 2 November 1974 3 4 dwarf crocodile 3 December 1974 3 6 0 4 January 1974 4 2 0 5 February 1975 3 3 okapi (deceased) 6 February 1975 3 2 0 7 December 1980 3 2 elephant

Table 18.2: Elephant hunting record from August 1974 to February 1975 in Teturi area (data from Ichikawa, 1982). though smaller animals were killed on two occa- with joy. Te entire group immediately moved to sions (Table 18.2). Te success rate in this period the site of the kill (Fig. 18.3). On arriving at the is, therefore, one for six attempts, or, one elephant site, men started dismembering the carcass, cut- kill per 60–70 hunter-days of hunting eforts. Ac- ting and dividing the meat. Tere was no “skin bit- cording to the Mbuti interviewed in 1980, during ing ceremony” (that is, to let a small boy bite the 25 months from August 1978 (when colleagues membrane under the skin and bathe the sprout- of mine visited the same group) to September, ing putrefed contents of intestines) as reported by 1980 (when I visited them again), a total of four Putnam (1948). Dufy (1984), who witnessed dis- elephants had been killed at diferent parts of the membering of an elephant at the killing site, also forest, all by the same mtuma, who killed one in stated that there was no such ceremony. A video December, 1980. For the Efe in northern Ituri for- taken by Japanese television crew showed a Mbuti est, Terashima (1983) reported that during his six hunter (not a boy, however) biting the white sub- months research from 1978 to 1979, two hunt- cutaneous tissue of an elephant (NAV, 1972), but ing groups attempted elephant hunting for several the meaning of this biting was not clear. times, and killed two elephants. Probably, the aver- Te elephant formally belongs to the owner age kill by a band is around one elephant for half a of the spear, which made the frst fatal stab, most year, because elephant hunting is not practiced reg- probably the mtuma. However, this ownership ularly, but only occasionally. When an elephant is is only nominal. Everyone can cut and take the killed, a huge quantity of meat becomes available, meat as they like, except for special parts to be al- but it is rather a rare occasion, and not reliable for located to specifc members of the group. In the daily subsistence. In December 1980, during my group I studied, the special parts, numbered in second research, a young elephant was killed by a Figure 18.4, are eaten only by the members of the well-known elephant hunter. Bapuera patrilineal clan, which form the majority of the group. Tese parts are either highly prized parts, such as fatty parts, heart, liver and kidneys, 18.4 DISTRIBUTION OF MEAT the parts with a special taste or texture, or with some ritual meaning such as the trunk tip and the When the elephant was killed, the hunters returned tail. As most forest-mammals, except bush pigs in to the camp, beating the buttress root of a large the fruiting season, are generally low in fat, fatty tree on the way to inform the success of the hunt. parts are highly valued1. Te foot above the planter When the mtuma hunter arrived at the camp, carrying his broken spear on the shoulder, which was 1 While they said they would extract marrow (white fatty a sign of success, the people in the camp shouted substance) from bones, I did not observe them to eat the bone marrow of the elephant. 462 MITSUO ICHIKAWA

Figure 18.3: A young elephant whose left-side lower abdomen was pierced with a spear. Photo by M. Ichikawa.

has white fatty cushion, which is much favored by the Mbuti. Te liver, heart and kidneys are rich in vitamin and minerals. Te trunk tip and tail are the leading and trailing parts, and symbolize the entire animal, and are taken by a man called bulumusa, meaning “the frst to pull”, or the one who frst departs from the camp for collective hunting, and makes a hunting fre before other members arrive at the hunting ground. Tis hunting fre, called “kungya”, literally meaning “to converse”, is made for communicating with the “Apakumandu- ra” (master of forest), and for asking permission and success of hunting. Te bulumusa man also Figure 18.4: Elephant parts taken by the specifc members of plays an important role in the molimo spirit ritu- the Bapuera clan. 1, sesi: trunk tip; 2, tinapata: forehead; 3, al performance. Tese special parts are shown in tesiyo: front of ears; 4, ekiliti: loin; 5, tinakondo: tails; 6, esua- Figure 18.4, with the names of parts and the re- ta: meat inside the pelvis; 7, etindi: foot (above the plantar); 8, edaka: tongue; 9: bukameema: heart; 10, bagbe: kidney. cipients of Bapuera clan. Te fatty meat of foot Dashed lines indicate internal parts and organs. (planters), which has special taste and texture, are cut into pieces, and shared among the Bapuera clan members. was enough for about 40 camp members to have Tey cut and take as much meat as they like meat feast for a week, even when part of the meat (Fig. 18.5). Te man who obtained the largest was brought to the village for exchanging with the amount, 50 kg after boiled and half-dried, was a Bantu cultivators for cassava, plantain and other paternal cousin of the mtuma hunter, who killed agricultural food. In this way, elephant hunting the elephant, whereas the mtuma hunter himself provides them with a huge quantity of meat at took 44 kg (Table 18.3). More than a half tonne a time. Moreover, it provides a large quantity of of meat was obtained from the elephant, and this much favored fats, which cannot be obtained from ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER-GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN 463

Figure 18.5: Butchering the carcass. Photo by M. Ichikawa.

Members Relationship to tuma Special parts taken Weight of meat taken Bapuera clan members A tuma hunter 6, 4 44 B brother 10 33 C brother 4 37 D brother, bulumusa 1,3, 5 40 E* brother 4 15 F brother ? G paternal cousin 9, 4 35 H 8 50 I* paternal cousin 3 ? Other clan members J* cross-cousin 8 K cross-cousin 21.5 L* cross-cousin 21

Table 18.3: Weight of meat (in kg, partly dried) obtained by individuals (December 1980). Underlined members (A, C and J) participated in the hunt; the numbering of the elephant parts corresponds to Figure 18.4; the planters of foot (7) are split into two pieces and shared among the Bapuera clan members; *, staying alone without family. other forest animals, except bush pigs. Te prob- ing) songs were sung by adult men with beating lem is that, it is unstable and successful only a few of banja, a pair of wooden sticks torn from half times a year. to the end, and women danced in a circle. How- All the camp members enjoyed the feast of el- ever, unlike the previous reports, there was no cer- ephant meat. Before the hunt, ritual performances emonial performance after the successful hunt in were held at night for hunting success, with inten- this case, though the feast continued several days sive singing and dancing. Butuma (elephant hunt- after the hunt. All the parts, except bones, teeth, 464 MITSUO ICHIKAWA

Figure 18.6: Hunting efforts and catch in net hunting. Hunting effort is shown in black lines and catch in gray lines on the vertical axis. The effort is represented by the number of attempts (net casts) × (net length in meters)2. The amount of catch is shown in kg x 100. Horizontal axis shows the hunting days, from 1st to 22nd day.

and contents of digestive tracts, were consumed. imal is entangled in the net, the man hiding by Even skins were cut into thin strips and eaten, after the net seizes the animal and kills it with a stick or cooked for a long time. If there had been cassava spear. One hunting attempt (consisting of setting leaves brought from the village, they would have nets, driving the animals, killing the animals en- been cooked with elephant skins, to make one of tangled in the nets, removing the nets and moving the favorite dishes of the Mbuti. Te ivory belongs to the next hunting ground) takes about an hour, to the owner, i.e., mtuma hunter in this case. He and usually fve to ten attempts are made in a day. brought it to a Bantu farmer, who probably sold Te daily catch from net hunting is strongly it to a trader secretly, because ivory trade without correlated to their hunting efort, as shown in Fig- license was illegal at the time of my research. ure 18.6. Te more hunting efort is made, the more hunting yields they get. Hunting efort in this case is estimated by the total area covered by 18.5 DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS: the nets in the day’s hunt, which in turn is rep- COMPARISON WITH NET HUNTING resented by (number of attempts = net casts) × (total net lengths used in the day’s hunt)2. Te Compared with such an unstable hunting for el- meat distribution patterns are also contrastive. In ephants, the Mbuti’s daily hunting with nets pro- the case of net hunting, the owner of the animals vides them with much more stable catch. It aims at must distribute the parts to other participants, forest duikers, weighing from 5 to 25 kg. Usually depending on the roles they have played in the ten to ffteen nets are combined to make a large hunt. Te hunter, who uses other’s net is given semicircle. Women and children beat the bush to a hind leg, while the woman who carries the car- drive the animals toward the nets. When an an- cass to the camp takes one of the front legs. Te ELEPHANT HUNTING BY THE MBUTI HUNTER-GATHERERS IN THE EASTERN CONGO BASIN 465

Net hunting Elephant hunting catch 6–7 tonnes/year, small and stable 5–6 tonnes/year, large but unstable participants ordinary men and women specialists (batuma) meat sharing first obligatory, followed by voluntary share with equal access, except of specific parts ritual performances rare special performances songs yes but infrequent special songs by men feast no yes Table 18.4: Comparison between net hunting and elephant hunting.

one who assists to kill the animal entangled in the net takes the part of the chest called esosi, while the man who frst depart the camp and make a hunting fre before the hunt starts takes the lower ribs, called seka of medium-sized duikers and the heads of blue duikers. Such distribution is formal and obligatory, and we call it “frst distribution”, which is then followed by voluntary, secondary distribution from those who have to those who haven’t the meat. Te distribution of elephant meat is quite diferent. Certain parts are given Figure 18.7: Dwarf kingfsher, “bird of elephants”. Photo by to the specifc individuals, regardless of the role M. Ichikawa. played in the hunt, whereas other parts are shared freely among the camp members as they butch- Te amounts of meat obtained in a year from ered the carcass. two hunting methods are almost the same, 6–7 As has been often reported, elephant hunt- tonnes per annum for a group of 40–50 members. ing has a heavy cultural load, or, cultural mean- However, the stability of meat yield is very much ings. Before the hunt, special ritual is performed, diferent. Te elephant hunting fails in most cases, with singing and dancing. Te men sing special but when it is successful, a huge quantity of meat songs for butuma, elephant hunting songs, and is obtained at a time. Meat distribution pattern is women dance. For net hunting, no special skill/ also diferent; elephant meat is shared almost freely technique is necessary. Any adult men and even among the camp members, except for certain parts, boys of lower teenagers handle the nets, and and joyful feast follows after the successful hunt. women and children participate also as beaters. In these ways, elephant hunting makes a strong By contrast, elephant hunting is performed by accent to an otherwise monotonous daily life with experienced adult hunters, with a master hunter collective net hunting, which ensures regular and (mtuma) playing a central role. Te mtuma exerts stable supply of meat, but only in a small quantity leadership in hunting, based on his skills, knowl- (Table 18.4). edge, and courage. He has developed the capacity How about the image of elephants? Elephants for mtuma through accompanying his predeces- are the biggest game in the region, and provide sor mtuma, often his father or uncle. While his them with highly prized meat in large quantities. authority is restricted to the activities related to Te Mbuti say the elephant meat is the best of elephant hunting, it is still unusual in an other- the forest animals, mainly because of the quanti- wise egalitarian society. ty of meat provided at a time. However, they also 466 MITSUO ICHIKAWA know that elephants are dangerous animals, which REFERENCES may kill hunters, as mentioned before. Te Mbuti women and children are afraid of an unexpected Agam, A., Barkai, R., 2018. Elephant and mam- encounter with elephants in the forest. Tey are moth hunting during the Paleolithic: A review always excited when they are talking or discussing of the relevant archaeological, ethnographic about their experiences with elephants. However, and ethno-historical records. Quaternary 1, 3. in the Mbuti folktales, elephants are not consid- Bahuchet, S., 1985. Les Pygmées aka et la forèt ered the “greatest” animal. 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