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

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.

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