The Forest People

In the book, The Forest People by Colin Turnbull, he discusses two cultures of varying similarities and differences; the Pygmies and the Villagers. There are many cross-cultural comparisons that can be examined between the Pygmies and the Villagers, such as the rituals they perform, their hunting methods and skills, and their religion and beliefs. Within the forest environment, the villagers rely on the Pygmies for various things such as food and are not as good at things of nature such as hunting, while the Pygmies in return rely on the labor of the villagers. However, the relationship formed between the two cultures is intriguing and works profoundly well.

The relationship between the Pygmies and the villagers shows how the villagers feel superior to the pygmies (172). However, their interactions are mostly civil. As Turnbull put it, “The relationship between the two peoples was a strange one, full of ambivalence and uncertainty” (172). An example of this is when Turnbull talks about how the Pygmies would feed the villagers if they passed through their camp, but eventually got irritated because they didn’t like being used solely for food. (139) This shows how the villagers expected the Pygmies to just do things for them. The Pygmies then agreed to feed the villagers only if they played a game called Panda with them because they knew that they would never be able to win it. (139) This also displays the strange relationship between the two because instead of just saying no to giving them food, they are civil with them and find a way to nicely get out of it. Although they did seem to get tired of giving food to the villagers, Turnbull says that, “It was not a matter of slavery, but of mutual convenience,” (173) meaning that the Pygmies did not feel like they were being forced to do this because they were receiving a favor in return. The villagers would find the Pygmies another source of labor, creating reciprocity (173).

Hunting is an important part of the Pygmies’ and the villagers’ cultures, however, this in an area where their methods differ greatly. Because the Pygmies are built so small, they have an advantage in hunting (14). They are known to hunt aggressively large animals such as elephants (14). Turnbull stated, “They have no fear, because for them there is no danger. For them there is little hardship, so they have no need for belief in evil spirits. For them it is a good world,” when referring to the Pygmies (12). The majority of the Pygmies are hunter-gatherers and rely on the food that they can get from their environment (14). The villagers are not as good of hunters as the Pygmies, and the Pygmies know this. “[The Pygmies] both laughed at the strange hunting methods of the villagers” (238) Turnbull described one method of the villagers, which was to use traps that were difficult to set up and did not work that well; the animals would learn the traps and then avoid them, defeating their purpose (238). The Pygmies hunt in a cooperative manner and with hunting nets or bow and arrows (97). They believe that whenever one is hunting, it is always for the group and that working together is the only way to hunt correctly (97). The Pygmies used more hands-on hunting whereas the villagers would use other devices to do the hunting for them.

While the Pygmies and the Villagers share many rituals, the elima is one that they observe very differently. The Elima is the marking of womanhood; when a girl gets her first period. In the culture of the Pygmies, they see this point in life as a cause for celebration, whereas the Villagers think that it a shameful occurrence and hide the young girls away until they can, “be led from her room of shame.” (186) The villagers view menstrual blood as a sign of defilement in girls and believe that it means they have slept with a man; many have not, but are supposed to pretend that they have with a man of their liking therefore said man can be her husband (186). The girls are then secluded away in a hut (186). It is a much different practice than that of the Pygmies, where they are joyous at the sighting of a girl’s first period. They see the blood as a symbol of life (186). Turnbull states, “When a young Pygmy girl begins to flower into maturity, and blood comes to her for the first time, it comes to her as a gift, received with gratitude and rejoicing—rejoicing that the girl is now a potential mother” (187). Similar to the ritual norms of the villagers, the girl enters seclusion. However, it is a much different form and reason for this. In this seclusion, they celebrate with other girls; “It is a time of gladness and happiness, not for the women alone but for the whole people. Pygmies from all around come to pay their respects,” (195). This quote shows how the Pygmies see the emergence of womanhood much differently than the villagers. “For the Pygmies, the elima is one of the happiest, most joyful occasions in their lives,” (196) says Turnbull. While the elima is celebrated differently between the two cultures, it ultimately serves a similar purpose for the Pygmies and the villagers which is that it marks a change in status from being a girl to becoming a woman. Throughout the celebration of the Pygmies, boys will try to win their way into the hut that the girls of the elima are in, so that they can “flirt with or even sleep with the girl who invited [him] in” (198), similar to how the girls of the village will choose a boy they find attractive to sleep with.

Another belief that is shared between the cultures of the Pygmies and the villagers is the molimo, however, it is also practiced very differently. For the villagers, the molimo is solely a ritual act (144). They do not care about the God of the Forest as the Pygmies do, and focus on the ceremony of it. (144). It is very important to them that the molimo be performed perfectly, in order to provoke the magic they believe it brings. (145) This is where the Pygmies differ greatly regarding the molimo. They do not believe it arouses magic but instead focus on the religion of it. The Pygmies also care less about the ritual and more in the fact that molimo is used to awaken the God of the Forest that deserves all respect. (145) Altogether, while the villagers view the molimo as a ritual act, the Pygmies see it as religious too to bring about the deity of the forest.

Overall, the relationship between the Pygmies and the villagers shows a lot about the cultures of the two and how they interact with each other is quite interesting. While the villagers appear to see the Pygmies as inferior to them, the Pygmies do not oblige and simply treat them with civility rather than fighting it; they know where they stand and they do not care to fight it. They Pygmies do not feel as though they are slaves to the villagers, they help them and simply feel indifferent about it. From adopting different aspects of each other’s cultures to generously helping one another, the Pygmies and the villagers have many cross-cultural views that help create the well-balanced, functioning relationship between them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By taking the English 110 course, I am able to incorporate what I learn and what I have learned into other classes that require writing assignments or essays, as well. In this essay in particular, which was written on the book The Forest People, I was able to use and even work on a lot of skills that I have strengthened in my English Composition course. For example, because this essay is written on a book, I needed to incorporate a lot of quotes into it. In English 110, we focused a lot on how to use other authors’ work in your own, including how to properly “sandwich” a quote, (how to introduce and then explain the quote). This was very helpful when writing this essay because I knew exactly what I was doing when putting the quotes in since I had already done so in English 110 and had edited and peer edited while focusing on that. You can see how I “sandwich” my quotes in this essay in the following: “The Villagers think that it a shameful occurrence and hide the young girls away until they can, “be led from her room of shame.” (186) The villagers view menstrual blood as a sign of defilement in girls and believe that it means they have slept with a man; many have not, but are supposed to pretend that they have with a man of their liking therefore said man can be her husband.” Because I had already introduced the author and the book previously, this particular quote along with many others did not need much of an introduction. However, I used the first part of the sentence in my own words to work around this. I then explained the quote afterwards by discussing why the young girls are shamed the way they are in this society. In Steven Pinker’s “Why Academics Stink at Writing”, he says, “When Calvin explained to Hobbes, “With a little practice, writing can be an intimidating and impenetrable fog,” he got it backward. Fog comes easily to writers; it’s the clarity that requires practice.” I think this applies to a lot of my writing, including the piece here, because it shows how even though writing can be difficult and sometimes hard to generate, what is really difficult is making sure your reader is understanding you. Pinker claims that academics have a hard time doing this without overdoing it, however, this is not always true, and academic writing does not have to stink. For example, in my writing, I do not over-explain what I am saying. I usually will only explain my writing when I incorporate quotes into it, so that the reader knows why I am using it. Overall, I think that English 110 has really helped me to write better essays in and outside of the course and I will be able to carry the knowledge I gained from taking it on to my other classes in the future.