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[[File:Mbuti woman with mushrooms1.jpg|thumbnail|Source: http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html]]
[[File:Mbuti woman with mushrooms1.jpg|thumbnail|Source: http://www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html]]


The Mbuti hunter-gatherers in the Congo's Ituri Forest have traditionally lived in stateless communities with gift economies and largely egalitarian gender relations. The anthropologist Colin Turnbull, after living with a Mbuti band, remarked, "They were a people who had found in the forest something that made life more than just worth living, something that made it, with all its hardships and problems and tragedies, a wonderful thing full of joy and happiness and free of care."<ref>Colin Turbull, ''The Forest People'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968) 28.</ref> Today, several thousands Mbuti live in the forest but face threats from the Congo's civil war and environmental devastation from coltan mining, deforestation and hunting.<ref>Peter Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>
The Mbuti hunter-gatherers in the Congo's Ituri Forest have traditionally lived in stateless communities with gift economies and largely egalitarian gender relations. The anthropologist Colin Turnbull, after living with a Mbuti band, remarked, "They were a people who had found in the forest something that made life more than just worth living, something that made it, with all its hardships and problems and tragedies, a wonderful thing full of joy and happiness and free of care."<ref>Colin Turnbull, ''The Forest People'' (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968) 28.</ref>
 
Today, several thousands Mbuti live in the forest but face threats from the Congo's civil war and environmental devastation from coltan mining, deforestation and hunting.<ref>Bruce Bonta, "Unicorns, and the Mbuti, Are Troubled by Violence," ''Peaceful Societies'', 5 March 2015,
https://cas.uab.edu/peacefulsocieties/2015/03/05/unicorns-and-the-mbuti-are-troubled-by-violence/.
Peter Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>


=Culture=
=Culture=
Mbuti culture trationally emphasized nearly egalitarian gender relations and extensive freedom for children. Men controlled the hunting, while women gathered vegetables and other foods.<ref>"Mbuti", ''Encyclopedia of Selected Peaceful Societies'', www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html.</ref> Peter Gelderloos, based on Turnbull's work, noted that the Mbuti do not have excessive distinction between genders:
<blockquote>
The Mbuti also discouraged competition or even excessive distinction between genders. They did not use gendered pronouns or familial words — e.g., instead of “son” they say “child,” “sibling” instead of “sister” — except in the case of parents, in which there is a functional difference between one who gives birth or provides milk and one who provides other forms of care. An important ritual game played by adult Mbuti worked to undermine gender competition. As Turnbull describes it, the game began like a tug-of-war match, with the women pulling one end of a long rope or vine and the men pulling the other. But as soon as one side started to win, someone from that team would run to the other side, also symbolically changing their gender and becoming a member of the other group. By the end, the participants collapsed in a heap laughing, all having changed their genders multiple times. Neither side “won,” but that seemed to be the point. Group harmony was restored.<ref>Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>
</blockquote>
However, Mbuti appeared to tolerate a degree of domestic abuse. Turnbull writes, that after a wedding ritual a woman is "told she is now her husband's responsibility and must fend for herself and not come running home every time she gets beaten."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 186.</ref>


Children lived almost autonomously. In one game, around six children climbed a young tree, bending it to the ground. Then, they would all jump off, and anyone too slow would be flung into the air by the tree. Turnbull describes the life of Mbuti children as "one long frolic interspersed with a healthy sprinkle of spankings and slappings...And one day they find that the games they have been playing are not games any longer, but the real thing, for they have become adults. Their hunting is now real hunting; their climbing is in earnest search of innacessible honey; their acrobatics on the swings are repeated almost daily, in other forms, in the pursuit of elusive game, or in avoiding the malicious forest buffalo. It happens so gradually that they hardly notice the change at fist, for even when they are still proud and famous hunters their life is still full of fun and laughter."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People,'' 129.</ref>  
Mbuti forgagers practice egalitarian gender relations, provide extensive freedom for children, and have a non-authoritarian cosmovision.
 
==Gender==
 
Although men generally hunted, women sometimes took part in hunts. And men would help with women's usual tasks of washing the children and collecting mushrooms and nuts.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'' (1962), 154.</ref>
 
Rituals theatrically reinforce gender egalitarianism. One game begins with women playing against men in a tug-of-war match. When one side starts to win, someone from the winning team runs and joins the other side. In the end, neither side wins and people have changed their gender multiple times.<ref>Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref> In another ritual called the honey bee dance, men try to steal honey from women who guard it with torches and hot coals. After the women invariably succeed in protecting the honey, an elder woman concludes the game by presenting a leaf of honey to the men. This ritual reminds the community that although men provide most of the honey (as well as meat), they can never turn it into a form of economic control since the women control foods' distribution.<ref>Morna Finnegan, "The Politics of Eros: ritual dialogue and egalitarianism in three Central African hunter-gatherer societies," ''Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 19'': 697-715.</ref>
 
Gelderloos writes that the Mbuti discouraged "excessive distinction between genders. They did not use gendered pronouns or familial words — e.g., instead of 'son' they say 'child,' 'sibling' instead of 'sister' — except in the case of parents, in which there is a functional difference between one who gives birth or provides milk and one who provides other forms of care.<ref>Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>
 
==Children==
 
Childcare is highly cooperative. As soon as the mother first presents her child to the camp, she hands the baby to close friends and family to hold tight. From then on, the baby will be cared for and comforted not just by the mother but by any women in the vicinity. <ref>Sarah Hrdy, ''Mothers and Others'', 76.</ref> Among the Efe cluster, allomothers (women other than the biological mother) hold the infant some 60% of the daytime. However, the biological mother is still the one who holds the infant the most, and the infant sleeps next to the mother.<.ref>Hrdy, ''Mothers'', 78.</ref>
 
One popular game for young children involves six or more children climbing a small tree until the tree bends enough to hit the ground. Then they all jump off, and anyone who is too slow will get flung away to general laughter.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People,'' 128.</ref>
 
At a young age, children begin living almost autonomously. Turnbull describes the life of Mbuti children as "one long frolic interspersed with a healthy sprinkle of spankings and slappings...And one day they find that the games they have been playing are not games any longer, but the real thing, for they have become adults. Their hunting is now real hunting; their climbing is in earnest search of inaccessible honey; their acrobatics on the swings are repeated almost daily, in other forms, in the pursuit of elusive game, or in avoiding the malicious forest buffalo. It happens so gradually that they hardly notice the change at fist, for even when they are still proud and famous hunters their life is still full of fun and laughter.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People,'' 129.</ref>
 
==Menstruation==
 
When a girl menstruates for the first time, the community celebrates with a ceremony called an ''elima''.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 146.</ref> She goes with a group of friends into a special house where they'll be visited and honored by people from all over. For the Mbuti, this is "one of the happiest, most joyous occasions in their lives."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 186-7.</ref>
 
Menstrual blood signifies life and is a cause of celebration. Although there are some restrictions around it, the Mbuti say that a couple wanting children should "sleep with the moon." <ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 186-7.</ref>
 
==Religion==
Based on mutual obligations between humans and spirits, the Mbuti cosmovision does not contain authoritarian "gods." Consequently, Turnbull and Gelderloos each hesitate to call it a religion. Turnbull writes, "They believe in a benevolent deity or supernatural power which they identify with the forest. To this they owe as much respect and affection and consideration as they owe to their own parents, and from it they can expect the same in return."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'' (1962), 145.</ref> Gelderloos summarizes, "[T]he Mbuti would traditionally use the noisy ''molimo'' ritual to wake up the forest--seen as a spirit in its own right--if things were going wrong."<ref>Gelderloos, ''Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation'' (Oakland: AK Press, 2017), 194.</ref>
 
The rainbow snake motif, common among the world's cultures, can be found in Mbuti mythology. Mbutis envision the rainbow as a celestial snake that possesses terrifying powers and sometimes devours humans.<ref>John Loewenstein, "The Rainbow and the Serpent," ''Anthropos'' (1961), http://www.jstor.org/stable/40455409.</ref>


=Decisions=
=Decisions=
Decisions are made in assemblies composed of the adult men and women. The Mbuti did not have a state, or chiefs or councils. Turnbull explains, "If you ask a Pygmy why his people have no chiefs, no lawmakers, no councils, or no leaders, he will answer with misleading simplicity, 'Because we are the people of the forest.' The forest, the great provider is the one standard by which all deeds and thoughts are judged; it is the chief, the lawgiver, the leader, and the final arbitrator."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 124-5.</ref> According to Gelderloos, ancient historians provided accounts of the Mbuti living as stateless hunter-gatherers during the reign of Egyptian pharohs, and the Mbuti themselves say they always lived that way.<ref>Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>
 
Adults of all genders make communal decisions at public assemblies. The Mbuti do not have a state, or chiefs or councils. Turnbull explains, "If you ask a Pygmy why his people have no chiefs, no lawmakers, no councils, or no leaders, he will answer with misleading simplicity, 'Because we are the people of the forest.' The forest, the great provider is the one standard by which all deeds and thoughts are judged; it is the chief, the lawgiver, the leader, and the final arbitrator."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 124-5.</ref> According to Gelderloos, ancient historians provided accounts of the Mbuti living as stateless hunter-gatherers during the reign of Egyptian pharohs, and the Mbuti themselves say they always lived that way.<ref>Gelderloos, [[Anarchy Works]].</ref>


=Economy=
=Economy=
As hunter-gatherers, the Mbuti practiced extensive mutual aid and gift-giving. Turnbull writes, "Hunting, for a Pygmy group, is a co-operative affair--net-hunting pharicularly."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 97.</ref>  When a man caught and killed an animal, his wife would bring it back to the camp to share with others. Sometimes, people felt that food was distributed unfairly, and they would complain and squabble until the distribution was corrected.<ref>"Mbuti", ''Encyclopedia of Selected Peaceful Societies'', www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html.</ref> The construction of temporay villages was also a communal affair. The Mbuti lived in mud huts about 7 feet by 5 feet.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 39, 59.</ref>
 
As hunter-gatherers, the Mbuti maintain a cooperative and gift-based economy. Turnbull writes, "Hunting, for a Pygmy group, is a co-operative affair--net-hunting particularly."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 97.</ref>  When a man caught and killed an animal, his wife would bring it back to the camp to share with others. When people felt that food was distributed unfairly, they would complain and squabble until the distribution was corrected.<ref>"Mbuti", ''Encyclopedia of Selected Peaceful Societies'', www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html.</ref> The construction of temporary villages was also a communal affair. The Mbuti lived in mud huts about 7 feet by 5 feet.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 39, 59.</ref>
 
Mashall Sahlins describes the Mbuti as an example of the "original affluent society," easily satisfying all needs without living in material abundance. Shalins quotes Turnbull, "The materials for the making of shelter, clothing, and all other necessary items of material culture are all at hand at a moment's notice."<ref>Marshall Sahlins, ''Stone Age Economics'' (Chicago: Aldine Atherton, Inc, 1972), 10n.</ref>


=Environment=
=Environment=
The Mbuti revered the forest and lived there sustainably for thousands of years. The Mbuti villager Moke told Turnbull, "The forest is a father and mother to us and like a father or mother it gives us everything we need--food, clothing, shelter, warmth...and affection."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 192.</ref> However, Turnbull describes their cruel treatment of animals, "I have seen the Pygmies sieging feathers off birds that were still alive, explaining that the meat is more tender if the death comes slowly. And the hunting dogs, valuable as they are, get kicked around mercilessly from the day they are born to the day they die.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 101.</ref>
The Mbuti revere the forest and lived there sustainably for thousands of years. The Mbuti villager Moke told Turnbull, "The forest is a father and mother to us and like a father or mother it gives us everything we need--food, clothing, shelter, warmth...and affection."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 192.</ref> However, Turnbull describes some community members' cruel treatment of animals, "I have seen the Pygmies sieging feathers off birds that were still alive, explaining that the meat is more tender if the death comes slowly. And the hunting dogs, valuable as they are, get kicked around mercilessly from the day they are born to the day they die.<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 101.</ref>


=Crime=
=Crime=
The Mbuti had several methods of punishing crime. For the less serious crimes, the parties themselves solved the matter, by "either arguing out the case, or engaging in a mild fight." For more serious crimes, the village's young men would sound an instrument mimicking an elephant and attack the criminal's hut. Villagers responded to very serious crimes with ostracism and threats of supernatural retribution.<ref>Turbull, ''The Forest People'', 110-111.</ref> Turnbull describes an instance where a hunger put his hunting net before others'. The camp responded by taunting and ridiculing him, refusing to give him a chair, and laughing at him. Eventually, he apologized and gave up the meat he had caught. Turnbull comments, "Cephu had committed what is probably one of the most serious crimes in Pygmy eyes, and one that rarely occurs. Yet the case was settled simply and effectively, without any evident legal system being brought into force. It cannot be said that Cephu went unpunished, because for those few hours when nobody would speak to him he must have suffered the equivalent of as many days solitary confinement for anyone else. To have been refused a chair by a mere youthm not even one fo the great hunters; to have been laughed at by women and children; to have been ignored by men--none of these things would be quickly forgotten. Without any formal process of law Cephu had been firmly put in his place, and it was unlikely he would do the same thing again in a hurry."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 104-110.</ref> In another instance, a man committed incest with his cousin, a very serious crime according to tradition. The youth chased him out of the village. After three days, he returned and the village accepted him back.<ref>Turbull, ''The Forest People'', 111-112.</ref>
The Mbuti apply several diffuse sanctions for crime. For the less serious crimes, the parties themselves solve the matter, by "either arguing out the case, or engaging in a mild fight." For more serious crimes, the village's young men would sound an instrument mimicking an elephant and attack the criminal's hut. Villagers responded to very serious crimes with ostracism and threats of supernatural retribution.<ref>Turbull, ''The Forest People'', 110-111.</ref> Turnbull describes an instance where a hunter put his hunting net before others'. The camp responded by taunting and ridiculing him, refusing to give him a chair, and laughing at him. Eventually, he apologized and gave up the meat he had caught. Turnbull comments, "Cephu had committed what is probably one of the most serious crimes in Pygmy eyes, and one that rarely occurs. Yet the case was settled simply and effectively, without any evident legal system being brought into force. It cannot be said that Cephu went unpunished, because for those few hours when nobody would speak to him he must have suffered the equivalent of as many days solitary confinement for anyone else. To have been refused a chair by a mere youth, not even one of the great hunters; to have been laughed at by women and children; to have been ignored by men--none of these things would be quickly forgotten. Without any formal process of law Cephu had been firmly put in his place, and it was unlikely he would do the same thing again in a hurry."<ref>Turnbull, ''The Forest People'', 104-110.</ref> In another instance, a man committed incest with his cousin, a very serious crime according to tradition. The youth chased him out of the village. After three days, he returned and the village accepted him back.<ref>Turbull, ''The Forest People'', 111-112.</ref>


=Neighboring Societies=
=Neighboring Societies=
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<references/>
<references/>
--[[User:DFischer|DFischer]] ([[User talk:DFischer|talk]]) 16:05, 22 October 2014 (EDT)

Revision as of 13:27, 24 March 2022

The Mbuti hunter-gatherers in the Congo's Ituri Forest have traditionally lived in stateless communities with gift economies and largely egalitarian gender relations. The anthropologist Colin Turnbull, after living with a Mbuti band, remarked, "They were a people who had found in the forest something that made life more than just worth living, something that made it, with all its hardships and problems and tragedies, a wonderful thing full of joy and happiness and free of care."[1]

Today, several thousands Mbuti live in the forest but face threats from the Congo's civil war and environmental devastation from coltan mining, deforestation and hunting.[2]

Culture

Mbuti forgagers practice egalitarian gender relations, provide extensive freedom for children, and have a non-authoritarian cosmovision.

Gender

Although men generally hunted, women sometimes took part in hunts. And men would help with women's usual tasks of washing the children and collecting mushrooms and nuts.[3]

Rituals theatrically reinforce gender egalitarianism. One game begins with women playing against men in a tug-of-war match. When one side starts to win, someone from the winning team runs and joins the other side. In the end, neither side wins and people have changed their gender multiple times.[4] In another ritual called the honey bee dance, men try to steal honey from women who guard it with torches and hot coals. After the women invariably succeed in protecting the honey, an elder woman concludes the game by presenting a leaf of honey to the men. This ritual reminds the community that although men provide most of the honey (as well as meat), they can never turn it into a form of economic control since the women control foods' distribution.[5]

Gelderloos writes that the Mbuti discouraged "excessive distinction between genders. They did not use gendered pronouns or familial words — e.g., instead of 'son' they say 'child,' 'sibling' instead of 'sister' — except in the case of parents, in which there is a functional difference between one who gives birth or provides milk and one who provides other forms of care.[6]

Children

Childcare is highly cooperative. As soon as the mother first presents her child to the camp, she hands the baby to close friends and family to hold tight. From then on, the baby will be cared for and comforted not just by the mother but by any women in the vicinity. [7] Among the Efe cluster, allomothers (women other than the biological mother) hold the infant some 60% of the daytime. However, the biological mother is still the one who holds the infant the most, and the infant sleeps next to the mother.<.ref>Hrdy, Mothers, 78.</ref>

One popular game for young children involves six or more children climbing a small tree until the tree bends enough to hit the ground. Then they all jump off, and anyone who is too slow will get flung away to general laughter.[8]

At a young age, children begin living almost autonomously. Turnbull describes the life of Mbuti children as "one long frolic interspersed with a healthy sprinkle of spankings and slappings...And one day they find that the games they have been playing are not games any longer, but the real thing, for they have become adults. Their hunting is now real hunting; their climbing is in earnest search of inaccessible honey; their acrobatics on the swings are repeated almost daily, in other forms, in the pursuit of elusive game, or in avoiding the malicious forest buffalo. It happens so gradually that they hardly notice the change at fist, for even when they are still proud and famous hunters their life is still full of fun and laughter.[9]

Menstruation

When a girl menstruates for the first time, the community celebrates with a ceremony called an elima.[10] She goes with a group of friends into a special house where they'll be visited and honored by people from all over. For the Mbuti, this is "one of the happiest, most joyous occasions in their lives."[11]

Menstrual blood signifies life and is a cause of celebration. Although there are some restrictions around it, the Mbuti say that a couple wanting children should "sleep with the moon." [12]

Religion

Based on mutual obligations between humans and spirits, the Mbuti cosmovision does not contain authoritarian "gods." Consequently, Turnbull and Gelderloos each hesitate to call it a religion. Turnbull writes, "They believe in a benevolent deity or supernatural power which they identify with the forest. To this they owe as much respect and affection and consideration as they owe to their own parents, and from it they can expect the same in return."[13] Gelderloos summarizes, "[T]he Mbuti would traditionally use the noisy molimo ritual to wake up the forest--seen as a spirit in its own right--if things were going wrong."[14]

The rainbow snake motif, common among the world's cultures, can be found in Mbuti mythology. Mbutis envision the rainbow as a celestial snake that possesses terrifying powers and sometimes devours humans.[15]

Decisions

Adults of all genders make communal decisions at public assemblies. The Mbuti do not have a state, or chiefs or councils. Turnbull explains, "If you ask a Pygmy why his people have no chiefs, no lawmakers, no councils, or no leaders, he will answer with misleading simplicity, 'Because we are the people of the forest.' The forest, the great provider is the one standard by which all deeds and thoughts are judged; it is the chief, the lawgiver, the leader, and the final arbitrator."[16] According to Gelderloos, ancient historians provided accounts of the Mbuti living as stateless hunter-gatherers during the reign of Egyptian pharohs, and the Mbuti themselves say they always lived that way.[17]

Economy

As hunter-gatherers, the Mbuti maintain a cooperative and gift-based economy. Turnbull writes, "Hunting, for a Pygmy group, is a co-operative affair--net-hunting particularly."[18] When a man caught and killed an animal, his wife would bring it back to the camp to share with others. When people felt that food was distributed unfairly, they would complain and squabble until the distribution was corrected.[19] The construction of temporary villages was also a communal affair. The Mbuti lived in mud huts about 7 feet by 5 feet.[20]

Mashall Sahlins describes the Mbuti as an example of the "original affluent society," easily satisfying all needs without living in material abundance. Shalins quotes Turnbull, "The materials for the making of shelter, clothing, and all other necessary items of material culture are all at hand at a moment's notice."[21]

Environment

The Mbuti revere the forest and lived there sustainably for thousands of years. The Mbuti villager Moke told Turnbull, "The forest is a father and mother to us and like a father or mother it gives us everything we need--food, clothing, shelter, warmth...and affection."[22] However, Turnbull describes some community members' cruel treatment of animals, "I have seen the Pygmies sieging feathers off birds that were still alive, explaining that the meat is more tender if the death comes slowly. And the hunting dogs, valuable as they are, get kicked around mercilessly from the day they are born to the day they die.[23]

Crime

The Mbuti apply several diffuse sanctions for crime. For the less serious crimes, the parties themselves solve the matter, by "either arguing out the case, or engaging in a mild fight." For more serious crimes, the village's young men would sound an instrument mimicking an elephant and attack the criminal's hut. Villagers responded to very serious crimes with ostracism and threats of supernatural retribution.[24] Turnbull describes an instance where a hunter put his hunting net before others'. The camp responded by taunting and ridiculing him, refusing to give him a chair, and laughing at him. Eventually, he apologized and gave up the meat he had caught. Turnbull comments, "Cephu had committed what is probably one of the most serious crimes in Pygmy eyes, and one that rarely occurs. Yet the case was settled simply and effectively, without any evident legal system being brought into force. It cannot be said that Cephu went unpunished, because for those few hours when nobody would speak to him he must have suffered the equivalent of as many days solitary confinement for anyone else. To have been refused a chair by a mere youth, not even one of the great hunters; to have been laughed at by women and children; to have been ignored by men--none of these things would be quickly forgotten. Without any formal process of law Cephu had been firmly put in his place, and it was unlikely he would do the same thing again in a hurry."[25] In another instance, a man committed incest with his cousin, a very serious crime according to tradition. The youth chased him out of the village. After three days, he returned and the village accepted him back.[26]

Neighboring Societies

From Peter Gelderloos, Anarchy Works [27]:

Contrary to common portrayals by outsiders, groups like the Mbuti are not isolated or primordial. In fact they have frequent interactions with the sedentary Bantu peoples surrounding the forest, and they have had plenty of opportunities to see what supposedly advanced societies are like. Going back at least hundreds of years, Mbuti have developed relationships of exchange and gift-giving with neighboring farmers, while retaining their identity as “the children of the forest.”

Today several thousand Mbuti still live in the Ituri Forest and negotiate dynamic relationships with the changing world of the villagers, while fighting to preserve their traditional way of life. Many other Mbuti live in settlements along the new roads. Coltan mining for cell phones is a chief financial incentive for the civil war and the habitat destruction that is ravaging the region and killing hundreds of thousands of inhabitants. The governments of Congo, Rwanda, and Uganda all want to control this billion dollar industry, that produces primarily for the US and Europe, while miners seeking employment come from all over Africa to set up camp in the region. The deforestation, population boom, and increase in hunting to provide bush meat for the soldiers and miners have depleted local wildlife. Lacking food and competing for territorial control, soldiers and miners have taken to carrying out atrocities, including cannibalism, against the Mbuti. Some Mbuti are currently demanding an international tribunal against cannibalism and other violations.


  1. Colin Turnbull, The Forest People (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1968) 28.
  2. Bruce Bonta, "Unicorns, and the Mbuti, Are Troubled by Violence," Peaceful Societies, 5 March 2015, https://cas.uab.edu/peacefulsocieties/2015/03/05/unicorns-and-the-mbuti-are-troubled-by-violence/. Peter Gelderloos, Anarchy Works.
  3. Turnbull, The Forest People (1962), 154.
  4. Gelderloos, Anarchy Works.
  5. Morna Finnegan, "The Politics of Eros: ritual dialogue and egalitarianism in three Central African hunter-gatherer societies," Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 19: 697-715.
  6. Gelderloos, Anarchy Works.
  7. Sarah Hrdy, Mothers and Others, 76.
  8. Turnbull, The Forest People, 128.
  9. Turnbull, The Forest People, 129.
  10. Turnbull, The Forest People, 146.
  11. Turnbull, The Forest People, 186-7.
  12. Turnbull, The Forest People, 186-7.
  13. Turnbull, The Forest People (1962), 145.
  14. Gelderloos, Worshiping Power: An Anarchist View of Early State Formation (Oakland: AK Press, 2017), 194.
  15. John Loewenstein, "The Rainbow and the Serpent," Anthropos (1961), http://www.jstor.org/stable/40455409.
  16. Turnbull, The Forest People, 124-5.
  17. Gelderloos, Anarchy Works.
  18. Turnbull, The Forest People, 97.
  19. "Mbuti", Encyclopedia of Selected Peaceful Societies, www.peacefulsocieties.org/Society/Mbuti.html.
  20. Turnbull, The Forest People, 39, 59.
  21. Marshall Sahlins, Stone Age Economics (Chicago: Aldine Atherton, Inc, 1972), 10n.
  22. Turnbull, The Forest People, 192.
  23. Turnbull, The Forest People, 101.
  24. Turbull, The Forest People, 110-111.
  25. Turnbull, The Forest People, 104-110.
  26. Turbull, The Forest People, 111-112.
  27. Anarchy Works