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2nd out of 102 books
—
17 voters
The Forest People
The Forest People -- Colin M. Turnbull's best-selling, classic work -- describes the author's experiences while living with the BaMbuti Pygmies, not as a clinical observer, but as their friend learning their customs and sharing their daily life. Turnbull conveys the lives and feelings of the BaMbuti whose existence centers on their intense love for their forest world, whic...more
Paperback, 320 pages
Published
July 2nd 1987
by Touchstone
(first published 1961)
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Turnbull's memoir of his time living among the BaMbuti pygmies of the Congo. Not an ethnography or academic work in any sense, it is instead an earnest account that humanizes the BaMbuti and sells their delightfully cheerful worldview and lifestyle. The BaMbuti live in the forest, depend on it and their souls are nourished by it.
I read the book incidentally; it was one of the most appealing in the Friends of the Richland Public Library store during the time I was unable to get a library card. I...more
I read the book incidentally; it was one of the most appealing in the Friends of the Richland Public Library store during the time I was unable to get a library card. I...more
This book was recommended in a world music class, and may be one of the best takeaways I have from that class. Turnbull lived with the BaMbuti pygmies and gives a detailed and intimate look at their world. He was one of the few people at that time who was able to live with and study the BaMbuti without being chaperoned by the neighboring non-pygmy villagers, and was able to learn much about the pygmies without viewing them through their neighbors' biases. The portrait he paints is of a people wh...more
This was surprisingly delightful. Turnbull's 1960s study of the Pygmy people is an interesting, engaging look at a very different way of life. The book gradually, and subtly, grabs the reader's attention by painting intimate pictures of Turnbull's individual friends and associates through anecdotes organized by theme. There's a wonderful chapter near the end in which we get to experience Kenge's first look at the world beyond the forest. His observations and reservations are at the same time bea...more
Only once in my recollection have I ever put a book aside unfinished (Tristram Shandy), but I nearly made it twice with this one. The only thing that kept me reading till the end was the fact that it was for a book club I've just joined and I felt compelled to finish - especially as it's my first book with them.
What didn't I like? I can't really put my finger on it to be honest. I am always interested in other cultures etc so this should have been one I'd enjoy, but I simply found it dull. Nothi...more
What didn't I like? I can't really put my finger on it to be honest. I am always interested in other cultures etc so this should have been one I'd enjoy, but I simply found it dull. Nothi...more
Turnbull was a good publicist for the BaMbuti, and made sure their view of things was given a fair hearing. One interesting point is that the neighboring BaNtu farmers believed that the Pygmies had cursed the forest land so that it lost fertility if converted to farmland. Of course, forest land is always nutrient-poor. A forest is a bootstrapping system that supplies its own nutrients, mostly, so naturally the land lost fertility if you removed the nutrient sources. But it served the BaMbuti's p...more
I read this book years ago in a college Anthropology course but could never remember the name of it, until seeing it on Goodreads tonight!
This was the first true Anthropology book I'd ever written. I was blown away by the vividness of the BaMbuti world, captivated by their reverence for nature, and impressed with their structure and ritual. I've thought about this book many times over the years and have always wondered if we've done the forest people a disservice by entering their world. Neverth...more
This was the first true Anthropology book I'd ever written. I was blown away by the vividness of the BaMbuti world, captivated by their reverence for nature, and impressed with their structure and ritual. I've thought about this book many times over the years and have always wondered if we've done the forest people a disservice by entering their world. Neverth...more
Student of Evans-Pritchard, Turnbull writes of the pygmies in the Belgian Congo. Includes the molimo (trumpet to "wake up" the forest), elima (girls' puberty rite), marriage, nkumbi rite of the villagers (circumcision rite in which Pygmies participate despite its lack of ritual importance or relvance to them). Also contracts the village life of the "negroes," who consider themselves masters of the Pygmies. (p. 145 dif., attitudes toward demeanor during rituals).
Quote, "There is darkness all arou...more
Quote, "There is darkness all arou...more
I was mildly surprised with this book. I expected, because I read it for a class, that it would be incredibly dull and boring. Now, I can't say that at times it wasn't but it was still very interesting none the less and made a great side study for my anthropology class. At times it even tied into the material we were studying. I did enjoy Turnbulls story of the BaMbuti and found them to be fascinating people. I particularly loved the end of the book as it was a nice way for Turnbull to part ways...more
I just finished a wonderful book, Colin Turnbull’s The Forest People. Turnbull lived ‘a while’ (pygmies don't measure time with a watch or a calendar) with African pygmies to understand their life, culture, and beliefs. As he relays events of his visit, he doesn’t lecture, or present the material as an ethnography. It’s more like a biography of a tribe. As such, I get to wander through their lives, see what they do, how they do it, what’s important to them, without any judgment or conclusions ot...more
Well first off, it was a surprisingly EASY read ... breezed right through the thing. What I remembered in particular was the elima of course, which at times made me laugh out loud. I also found their system of punishment interesting. While it was threatened that certain actions could result in banishment etc it seemed that very rarely were these punishments carried out. Hostilities would be direced towards the accused for a few days and perhaps the guilty one would go off into the forest by hims...more
Turnbull lived with a Pygmy tribe in central Africa for three years, and narrates his experiences in this book, focusing especially on the musical orientation the people have towards their forest home, as reflected in the nightly month-long ritual, the molimo. His descriptions of the music are alluringly disorienting, as the sounds of the molimo reverberate through the forest all around the singers, now mimicking a herd of elephants, now a growling tiger, and again, the voices of the singers the...more
What an interesting read--an anthropologist who lived with the BaMbuti Pygmies and came to love their forest almost as much as they did--how I wonder if they still do or if the surrounding villagers, and developers have either driven them farther into the forest if there is a farther or they have had to adapt and leave their songs, their hunting and their honey and adapt. Turnbull was there in the '60s....where are they in the '10s?
Although it is an ethnography, this book has the power of a novel. Colin Turnbull obviously didn't believe in keeping a dispassionate distance from those he observed, and I walked away feeling like I had something of a real understanding of him and the people he studied. I recommend this book to everyone. To my friends who write secondary world fantasy or science fiction, I strongly recommend it.
This is by far one of the best ethnographies I have read. Not only is it entertaining and told in an engaging narrative, but it also includes all the important information required for describing the society. It is an ethnography disguised as a work of fiction. Recommended for any introductory anthropology class, and really anyone who would like to learn about the "pygmies" of the Congo.
Read in a college anthropology class in conjunction with the book Yanomamo. Significant differences in societal norms and mores representing the two extremes in how humans treat one another which challenges the idea of what is human. Are there any universal right or wrong? Are emotions simply socially learned behaviors?
The anthropologist Colin Turnbull lived in the rural part of Virginia where I was born, and his death of AIDS was highly controversial in that area in the early 1990s. Thus, I wasted no time reading both of his classic books, as they contrast so greatly.
Consider the Mountain People and then read The Forest People. The Mbuti people, pygmies I guess you'd call them, have an interesting relationship with the townspeople and tourists. You have to love a people, considered backwards, that knowingly...more
Consider the Mountain People and then read The Forest People. The Mbuti people, pygmies I guess you'd call them, have an interesting relationship with the townspeople and tourists. You have to love a people, considered backwards, that knowingly...more
Colin Turnbull's intriguing inspection of pygmy life in Africa. He lived with these people for years and in the book he lovingly dissects their way of life. It is quite clear by the end how much he respects these people.
I think the book was most interesting to me on a philosophical level. The fact that this culture and civilization(one of the oldest in the world) exists almost entirely without possession-- there is nothing of any lasting value to own. Needless to say, this is fascinating to obse...more
I think the book was most interesting to me on a philosophical level. The fact that this culture and civilization(one of the oldest in the world) exists almost entirely without possession-- there is nothing of any lasting value to own. Needless to say, this is fascinating to obse...more
Excellent personal narrative about an anthropological scientist living with hunter-gatherers in Africa. I loved this book. It was written in the '50s so it's not as accurate now, but it's still a fascinating read.
I was about this book, compared to other cultural anthropology and ethnology i have read, this had a more homely, less professional perspective, and i liked that. Perspective not from a professional in the field, just another human. Cool read.
This was my first anthropolgy book (which became my minor in college). It's not at all a novel, but an interesting read if you like other cultures...it's about pygmies in Africa...cool, I know.
I gather he's not your traditional type of anthropologist. I liked this book because it was very personal. I am not bothered by notions that objectivity should be sought.
Dec 12, 2012
Angelina Estrada
added it
Interesting but yet kind of boring. Maybe I feel this way about it because I had to read it in anthropology class when I was in college.
I had to read this for anthropology, but it was a fun and interesting book. Of course, the world today is not the world of 1957.
Very interesting ethnography of a very secluded group of people in the world. Must read for any Anthropology major.
An anthropology about the authors experiences when living with a Pygmy tribe. Very interesting and informative.
Read this in high school. It had a profound influence on my view of the world. Great adventure story. Well written.
I read this for an anthropology class at UCSC. I thought it was very interesting.
read everything I brought out with me and stephanie recommended this as a great read.
Very good book and a reminder how little we know about ourselves.
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