Life Among the Pygmies of the Ituri Forest, Congo Free State

by James Jonathan Harrison

This is a pre-1923 historical reproduction that was curated for quality. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Tom Schulte · Rating 4 out of 5]

This mini memoir grew out of a hunt for the elusive okapi on which the author reflects,

I often wonder if it is possible that only 16 years ago Stanley fought his way inch by inch through all this country

Apparently not all celebrated colonization of the African interior and Harrison suggests,

If some of these people who write so much against the Congo would go and see for themselves, they would find out how much good work has been done, and would not blame the hundreds of splendid hard-working officers who are making a country, which in a few years will be far ahead- of anything we possess. Luckily, every month sees more visitors going to the Congo, who all return impressed with the excellent work done. My advice
to all is "Go and see for yourself."

Not finding game, he cooked up the idea of bringing some of the Pygmy peoples back to Europe, rather as a lark. He doesn't report on the European side of that adventure, while he does offer interesting first-hand lay anthropological observations of the stone age peoples' culture:

It has been stated that the pygmies live in the trees, but all flatly contradicted it, and said they only hid there after they had committed some raid, and wanted to lie low till all danger had passed. One or two said they believed a tribe of Mambutti living round Nepoko did construct shelters in tree- tops.

They make three distinct kinds of poison "Govu-govu," from a leaf like our common docking; "Arbi," from a shrub
having a leaf like our common beech tree; and " Appowi," made from a plant just like our common nettle. A peculiar superstition to bring a hunter good luck is for a man, the night before they start out, to cut three slits on the back of his hand, into which he rubs a mixture of herbs, causing intense irritation. Should a person die suddenly without pre- viously being sick, some kind neighbour says it is the devil, called by them " Oudah." ...

...As far as we could ascertain these people have no religion at all...