Peaceful Societies - Mbuti

Peaceful Societies - Mbuti
PeacefulSocieties.org

Location. About 15,000 Mbuti Pygmies live in the Ituri rainforest of northeastern Congo, in Central Africa.

Economy. Much of the year they engage in their traditional forest hunting and gathering, but part of the year they also live with nearby farming villagers for whom they provide labor in exchange for outside goods and garden vegetables.

Beliefs that Foster Peacefulness. The Mbuti view their forest as a sacred, peaceful place to live—they constantly refer to it with not only reverence but adoration. They sing songs to it, in appreciation for the care and goodness they feel they get from it. If something goes wrong in their camp at night, such as an invasion of army ants, the problem is that the forest is sleeping, so they sing to awaken it. Their songs of rejoicing, devotion, and praise serve to make the forest happy. They do not believe in evil spirits or sorcery from the forest as the nearby villagers do--their forest world is kinder than that.

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