African Jungle Memories

by John F. Burger

Unusual stories including that of a successful hunt that was almost entirely under native direction, and of women hunters who had hunted all of the dangerous game animals.

192 pages, Hardcover

First published January 28, 1997

Reviews

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

نمره ی واقعی: دو و نیم

این کتاب رو جهت گذران وقت از کتابخونه گرفتم و واقعا بد کتابی هم نبود و برای منی که پیش از این کتابی در مورد شکار و جوانب اون نخونده بودم یه افق تازه بود. هم برای درک روحیه ی شکارچی ها و هم برای درک بعضی شرایط اجتماعی-سیاسی در آفریقا. نویسنده در آفریقا هم شکارچی بوده هم معدن کار، اما عمده ی خاطراتی که در کتاب مطرح شده حول مضمون شکار می چرخه - مثلا شکار بوفالو، شیر، فیل و ... . نثر کتاب هم اصلا ادبی نیست و ساده و روونه

بندهای جالب کتاب - سوای خاطرات



الف. نظر آفریقایی ها در مورد سفید پوستا



مثلا این گفتگو. توضیح: "موتی" در زبان های آفریقایی اون ناحیه ظاهرا به معنی موادی است که تأثیر شفابخش و جادویی دارند

You do not understand, Ndege,” rejoined Abele. “ These white people have mooti which protects them from danger. Many years ago I hunted with a Mawrastag [Afrikaner] and he told me all about it. Why, I saw him follow a man-eating lion on bare feet in the middle of the night and kill it. Nothing ever happened to him, and when he died it was from a bad disease.” “ Perhaps you are right, Abele,” replied Ndege. “ Every now and again I see the bwana put mooti on all his guns. He keeps it in a bottle in his haversack [A compound to prevent guns from rusting], But it is good for us to remember that we have no mooti like that and sooner or later he will lead us into a lot of trouble

یا جایی دیگر یکی از همراهان همیشگی نویسنده در شکار چنین می گوید

Black stood looking at the skulls for a while, shook his head, “ You white people, you know everything,” he muttered as he walked off to his hut

البته همین همراه روی دیگر سکه را هم می بیند

An escapade like that will get you into trouble with a white man who shoots first and discusses afterward

ب. نویسنده ی اروپایی از فقدان توان مشاهده ی دقیق در بومیان می نالد. می گوید اسیر خیالات اند

Native observation, no matter from how experienced a quarter, is always of a doubtful quality. At the time of this incident, Ndege, the finest tracker I ever knew, had been with me for nearly twenty years, and had been in at the kill of many hundreds of buffaloes; but, as on several previous occasions when events got exciting, reliable observation was replaced by a lively imagination. It was as the result of the most "careful and reliable observation" by native spotters that I once walked into an ambush whilst on the trail of a wounded buffalo and escaped death by the proverbial skin of my teeth. That experience had taught me never to rely too much on the judgement or observation of even the most experienced natives when such dangerous situations arise

یا از ابهام در زبان آنها وقتی از فاصله و زمان حرف می زنند

Burger: And this village of yours, how far is it from here
Native: It is Mbali Kidogo [a little bit far]. If we leave now and walk fast, we will sleep quite close to it tonight

Mbali Kidogo is an elastic term I distrusted more than any other in the Swahili language. During the years that vague description had cost me many hundreds of miles of fruitless walking
...
That night we slept near a water-hole, still “ a little bit far ” from the village

یا از فقدان توان سازمان دهی آنها در هئیت های بزرگ شکار

One such district was close to what was then the out line of the borders of the National Parc Albert, quite near to the Ituri Forest. There it was possible to organise gangs of experienced native hunters, whose method of hunting the gorilla was to encircle him with their home-made nets. To get such a ponderous organisation to function would take a very long time, and it would be necessary to have a European on the spot to attend to all the details for a successful safari. This would need considerable capital

یا

With the exception of Ndege, who was an excellent shot on a moving target, I cannot remember ever seeing a native who could be relied upon when shooting at a running animal

یا از اینکه نمی توانند به حقایق تجربی در مورد حیوانات تن دردهند - مثلا اینکه نوعی مارمولک توان گاز گرفتن ندارد و دلیلی برای ترس از آن نیست

The chameleon has no teeth with which to bite! When I pushed a chameleon down the back of a porter who was sitting near the camp-fire one night, he turned white, and demanded his pay the next day. Whenever I wanted to be left alone and free from the thousand and one worries of my native staff, all I had to do was to allow a few pet chameleons to settle on my head or shoulders. To their way of thinking there is only one harmless chameleon, and that is a dead one

یا این

Obviously, one hunt, almost entirely under the guidance of native hunters, is not a sufficiently reliable test to formulate an opinion

ج. البته این بومیای "گیج"، تجربه هایی دارن که می تونه جون آدما رو نجات بده. مثلا داستان زیر

I was standing talking to a friend of mine one night whilst the doctor was busy inside attending to his wife, who had contracted blackwater. Her condition was extremely grave, and when the doctor emerged from the room he informed the husband that there was nothing more he could do and he did not think she would survive the night. My friend was naturally greatly distressed, and I did all I could to try to comfort him in the circumstances

It was whilst I stood talking to him that an old native from a nearby village appeared at the door. I knew the old man well, and he explained to me that the reason for his sudden appearance was to tell us that he was certain that he could cure the memsahib if she was still able to swallow a mixture he would prepare quickly. He had brought along a supply of roots from a tree which grew in the vicinity, and these were to be boiled in water and the resulting brew taken at frequent intervals. Neither of us had much confidence in the old man’s assurances, but in such a desperate situation one tries everything and hopes for the best. For the rest of that night we gave her repeated doses of the brew; the next morning there were distinct signs o f improvement, a week later she was out o f danger, and after that she made a rapid and complete recovery. I used those roots with success in two other bad cases of blackwater subsequently, and was never without them in the bush after that

یا همان نمایش ها و تخیل هایشان هم از شیرین ترین جنبه های شب های اردوگاه است

They are passionately fond of music, have a great sense of humour and are, without doubt, the finest mimics I ever came across. With them the day’s hunt never finishes in the field, but is brought right back into camp. The smallest event of note during a hunt is re-enacted around the camp-fire at night with great detail. I f during the day you have missed an easy shot, lost the trail— or your temper, escaped a charge by the skin of your teeth, got a shock when a buck jumped out from under your feet in long grass, the scene will be humorously portrayed around the camp-fire that night. Always the evening will come to a close with the singing of popular melodies, beautifully harmonised

د. نویسنده گاهی از بی رحمی و سنگدلی بومی ها می نالد، مثلا در مورد سگ های اروپایی

The native treatment of dogs in every territory in Central Africa is a revolting crime against nature. In many cases they have not sufficient food for themselves, owing to their laziness and indolence, yet they will breed dogs by the score and leave them to scavenge food for themselves. The brutality does not end there, for where­as a native will very rarely beat his child— no matter how serious the offence— he will subject a starving dog to the most heartless brutal beating for stealing a mouthful of food. I can vouch for many dogs having been beaten to death for such an offence

اما خودش هم ظاهرا چندان با مروت نیست - البته سوای سگ ها

I have often seen it written that scorpions will commit suicide by stinging themselves to death when angered or threatened; this in fact is scientifically vouched for in some text-books. Whereas I am not prepared to dispute this claim, it is a fact that on dozens of occasions I have enclosed a nest of scorpions in a ring of fire and brought the fire closer and closer until it must have been very uncomfortably hot, but on no single occasion did I ever see a scorpion sting itself

یا وقتی پای یک بچه گوریل وسط می آید

I have not sufficient knowledge of gorillas to estimate the age of the baby, but I believe he could not have been much more than three or four months old. The hunt had been a long, costly but exciting adventure, and one baby gorilla was perhaps as much as we could have hoped for. But whatever elation we felt on this subject was short-lived. The baby was determined to have no dealings with any human being. He resented all attempts at friendship on our part and refused to take any food or drink. This may have been due to the fact that he had received internal injuries of which we knew nothing, but he lived for only a few days. This meant that, apart from the adventure and excitement it provided, we had nothing to show for this costly expedition

ه. توسل به مادر در اوضاع خطرناک - چه ایتالیایی چه آفریقایی

It was in the Lake Katavi area that I had some of my most hair-raising experiences with buffaloes, and that included the occasion when an enormous bull appeared suddenly and charged the three-ton truck on which we were carrying the proceeds of the day’s hunt
...
Whilst all this was going on, the Italian prisoner-of- war driver, Biondi, and his assistant, Mutali, a Swahili native, sat petrified in the front seat screaming for help at the top o f their voices. I have often wondered why, in time o f danger, people will so readily call on their mothers for help? For whilst Biondi was appealing loudly to “ Mio Madre” , Mutali was call­ing equally loudly for "Mama Tangu" to come to the rescue

و. زنانی که زندگی در آفریقا را بر شهرهای اروپا ترجیح دادند

It is true that in these emancipated days of equality of the sexes, women often successfully invade what was previously the stronghold of the male sex, and for the greater part the situation is accepted as perfectly natural and normal. But that they should successfully emulate the men of the bush and find the same happiness and contentment there, strikes me as something very extra­ordinary, and I can find nothing but praise and admira­tion for those women whom I have met in this strange and unnatural setting

ز. وضع بد غذایی داشتن دام را به یکی از عوامل مهم برای ساکنان آفریقا بدل کرده و نوعی پرستیژ و شأن اجتماعی. چنانکه بعضی همچون داستان مش حسن و گاوش - در فیلم گاو مهرجویی - می میرند اما حیواناتشان را نمی کشند

At Kalumbaleza village the old headman, Mulopi, had a herd of over twenty cattle, which he kept in a kraal at nights. Mulopi, like most other natives in Central Africa, would not part with any of his cattle, even for cash offers far in excess of their actual value. This is a strange trait with natives which I have encountered throughout my life in the bush. Often I have come to villages during bad seasons where natives were literally starving to death, whilst their kraals would be well stocked with goats, sheep and cattle— as hungry as themselves— but it would never occur to them to kill off their livestock for their own sustenance. If an animal died from starvation or as the result of an accident, they would all gather around the bag of skin and bones and gorge themselves. This reluctance to part with livestock is often extended even to fowls and eggs

در جای دیگر نویسنده از حمله ی بومیان برای گرفتن سهمیه گوشت از تن یک شکار می گوید

Within a few minutes there was a wild scramble for the meat, and every inhabitant of that village was equipped with a knife, a panga or an axe. For a while I feared that serious injuries might result from their eagerness to secure their share of the spoils. In this frantic rush to get at the carcass I firmly believe they were prompted not so much by their anxiety to appease their craving for meat, as a desire to enjoy the privilege of crunching the flesh of their arch-enemy between their teeth

ح. شکار هم سنت های "اخلاقی" ای دارد - مثلا نکشتن شکار وقتی خواب است

He was still fast asleep and blissfully unaware of the imminent danger that threatened him. But all was not lost for him, he still had a slim sporting chance of sur­vival, for there is an old tradition of the forest which every serious hunter respects, and that is never to kill a sleeping animal. I crept up silently to a bush not more than twenty yards from him, and resting my gun on one of the larger branches, I sat down for a few moments to recover from my snake-like crawl, then I slowly raised my rifle and manoeuvred him into my sights until I had him safely covered.I whistled loudly and counted: One, two, three

The big bull was still standing sniffing the air when a .450 express bullet ploughed into his brain and he rolled over— dead. His trail of violence and destruction had come to an end. The temptation must have proved too great for my two gun-bearers, for the huge carcass had hardly hit the ground when two more shots rang out close behind me

یا شکار از راه دور

For me, with my big rifles that could “ kill at many thousands of yards ” , it would be an easy matter. I could take up a position on a cliff, well out of the danger zone yet within range, and the hunters would vacate the exit, circle round the herd higher up in the gorge, and drive them down to the valley through the mouth of the gorge, which I would cover effectively. It would be easy for me to pick off as many as I wanted from my observation post. The idea of placing myself in a safe position and taking advantage of animals who had no other means of escape but to run through a hail of lead, savoured more of murder than of hunting, and I promptly turned down the invitation, explaining the reason why

ط. اروپایی است و علم - حتی در شکار

It is in view of my experiences on this trip that I con­sider the gorilla the most difficult animal to hunt. It is quite possible that better and more scientifically organised expedition will be more successful and have much less trouble

ی. و در پایان پاسخ این پرسش که کلا چرا شکار به جای زندگی شهری

T o my mind the greatest fascination of the bush is that conditions never remain static for very long. The man who catches the 8 a.m. bus for the office every morning and who can tell beforehand just what will happen during the day, and feel content with such a scheme of things, has always been a puzzle to me

That modern progress is due to the fact that there are millions of such people all over the world is undoubtedly true, and I have no doubt that they have contributed far more towards the advance of mankind than the man who sallies forth into the bush every morning, rifle in hand, and asks himself the question, “ What will this day bring forth? ” For myself, the uncertainty of the bush has always had a great appeal to me. The mere prospect of excitement and adventure has generally proved sufficient compensation even on the days when I walked a score or more miles and saw nothing more exciting than a lizard making a dash for safety— it is unfortunately true that every denizen of the African bush will flee from the presence of man, the deadliest killer of them all

[Craig Schlossin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book.