A Celebration of Trees: Honoring the Mbuti People

Marilyn O'MalleyAfrica, Congo, Indigenous People, Make a Donation, MButi, News, NewsletterLeave a Comment

A Celebration of Trees
               
This month we are celebrating trees and the indigenous people who have long been the guardians of the forest. Naturally, we think of the Mbuti Pygmies, who, for thousands of years have lived sustainably as hunter-gatherers in the Ituri Forest–the world’s second largest rainforest located in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was Colin Turnbull, a famous anthropologist who first wrote about this tribe in The Forest People. He was convinced after observing Mbuti culture–particularly through their music, spirituality, and child rearing practices–that these people were vastly more humane and sophisticated than any group in western civilization.

As described in The Forest People, the Mbuti live in harmony not because they are coerced to do so by law, the threat of violence, or other external impositions, but because of an internal desire for unity, reciprocity, and social equality … a desire every Mbuti parent naturally fosters in their children. A Mbuti child learns to love others not because love is imposed upon him, but because he has spent at least the first three years of his life in his or her mother’s arms, on her back, and in her bed–embodying a relationship of constant and selfless giving and receiving. Turnbull wrote that old age in Europe and the United States is a “frightening anteroom to extinction,” while among the Mbuti it is seen as a time of wisdom, serenity, and power.
 
      Mbuti: Children of the Forest by Molly Feltner.
Sadly, the Mbuti have faced great hardship over the past several decades. Through their ability to change and adapt within their habitat, they survived the Congo’s devastating history of war, disease and resource exploitation, but after 2010, the Mbuti were forced to relocate to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, where many of them were murdered by the Mai Mai militia. No one has been able to return to this area due to political unrest and danger, so no information is available regarding their welfare. 

For over twelve years, the Tribal Trust has been working to share the Mbuti’s story with the general public–particularly that of their close connection to the natural world. In 2009, we organized an art exhibition to bring about international awareness and appreciation of their unique culture as well as the threatened the Congo’s Ituri Forest. The award winning video, Mbuti: Children of the Forest, is their message and plea to the world while showcasing the beauty and importance of Mbuti art, music and dance.

Photographs and documentary footage taken at the Okapi Wildlife Reserve by Molly Feltner in 2010 form the centerpiece of the exhibition, which you can view here. These powerful images, along with the traditional Mbuti artifacts and the work of internationally-acclaimed photographer and filmmaker Eliot Elisofon, offer a window into the Mbuti’s symbiotic relationship with the rainforest. 

Over his four decade career, beginning in 1947, Eliot traveled to the African continent nearly a dozen times–all with the goal of using the power of photography to educate the world about the fascinating diversity of African life and to dispel crude stereotypes portrayed at the time–all the while promoting the incredible wealth of African art and sculpture to the world. The Tribal Trust is honored to have Eliot’s daughter, Jill Elisofon, serve as one of our founding board members. Jill stayed with the Mbuti while her father was on assignment for National Geographic. Joseph Towles continued Colin Turnbull’s work with the Mbuti and provided special access to them deep in the Ituri Forest.

Mbuti bow-hunters near Beni, Congo, 1970.
Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution. 
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It is with great excitement that we announce an art exhibition being curated by our Marketing Director, Daniela Kronemeyer, which will take place in Southampton, New York, this autumn.  “A Celebration of Trees” intends to educate and expand thought and consciousness about the world’s vast network of trees–a critical resource to humanity’s survival. The show will run from October 1 – December 18 at the Southampton Arts Center. This unique exhibition will inspire viewers to think more deeply about our sacred connection to trees by sharing stories from the world’s indigenous people, who have long understood their importance–serving as an important reminder that we each have the power to make a difference when it comes to the health of the natural world.

We are grateful to Jill for lending two of her father’s photographs from their 1972 trip to the Congo to be exhibited in addition to important information she has shared that highlights the story of the Mbuti people and their unique connection to the forest. We also have an opportunity to showcase two pieces of rare barkcloth art from my private collection (photographed below) at the Southampton Arts Center. We just need to raise $750 to transport this priceless artwork to and from New York so that the beautiful story of the Mbuti people can be shared with the world. Please donate today.
 Mbuti Youth. Epulu, Ituri Forest, DRC., 2009. Photographed by Barbara Savage. 
Thank you for continuing to support the work of the Tribal Trust. We know that it takes a village to continue the important work of preserving essential indigenous wisdom for generations to come. We are grateful you are on this journey with us. 

Best wishes,

Barbara


Barbara Savage
Founder & Executive Director
Tribal Trust Foundation
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The Tribal Trust Foundation is located in the unceded homelands of the Chumash People and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. By recognizing these communities, we attempt to honor their legacies, their lives, and descendants. To learn more about the Indigenous People’s land on which your home or work sits, visit: native-land.ca

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