Ituri Forest

▪ forest, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Introduction

French  Forêt de L'Ituri  

 dense tropical rainforest lying on the northeastern lip of the Congo River basin in the Central African nation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo). Situated between 0° and 3° N latitude and 27° and 30° E longitude, the precise geographic limits of the Ituri are poorly defined, especially along its southern and western extensions. The Ituri is bounded to the north and northeast by savanna and in the east by the fertile highlands of the Western Rift Valley, while to the south and west it is contiguous with the lowland rainforest, where its rivers drain into the Congo River. The total area of the Ituri Forest is approximately 24,300 square miles (62,900 square km). The forest, which is inhabited by both Bantu-speaking and Pygmy peoples, owes its name to the Ituri River, which flows east-west across the forest into the Aruwimi River and thence to the Congo.

Physical features

Physiography

 The magnificence of the tropical rainforest of the Ituri cannot help but inspire the modern-day observer with the same poetic enthusiasm displayed by the famous Welsh explorer Henry Morton Stanley when he described his crossing of the area in 1887–88. The trees of the forest range in size from small saplings just inches in diameter to gigantic hardwoods reaching to heights of 170 feet (52 metres). Like the pillars of a Gothic cathedral, these giant trees are buttressed; roots run down their sides and extend great distances across the forest floor, making the ground a labyrinth of roots that anchor the trees and grab scarce nutrients from the shallow forest soil. In places where the high canopy is nearly continuous, only small, elusive patches of sunlight reach the forest floor. The lack of light at lower levels is accentuated by the darkness of the foliage of the few shrubs and small trees that can grow under such shaded conditions. Where gaps occur in the upper canopy, herbaceous plants with long leaves resembling those of the banana plant take advantage of the available light and grow in dense stands. In many places the forest has been disturbed, either by human activity or by natural treefalls that cut large swathes through the canopy and open up the forest to the strong equatorial sun. There, the vegetation near the ground is a dense tangle of nettles, creepers, and competing species of fast-growing, short-lived trees, which make walking difficult if not impossible. Everywhere on the ground there is a profusion of fallen nuts and fruits, some as large as basketballs and many partially eaten by monkeys, antelope (duikers), and rodents. During some seasons the air is filled with the nectar of numerous species of flower, including many epiphytes, which cling to the surface of other plants and draw their sustenance from the air. Always there is the sound of myriad insects. Cicadas perch on tree trunks and emit an irritating buzz that seems designed to drive any intruder to madness. Army ants advance in columns, audibly cracking the bodies of their insect prey. Seemingly endless lines of migrating butterflies flutter through the understory and sometimes congregate in colourful displays along streambeds. The buzzing of bees, busily plying the treetops in search of sweet nourishing nectar, is ever present. While magnificent, the forest with its constant high humidity and dark interior may seem oppressive to some. Certainly Joseph Conrad thought so when he referred to the forest as the “heart of darkness.” But the overwhelming impression for even the most squeamish visitor is not of darkness, not of oppressive gloom, but of life in its most vibrant and exciting form.

      The Ituri Forest varies in altitude between 2,300 feet (700 metres) in its southern portions to 3,300 feet in the north. The topography is gently undulating in the south, but in the north there are frequent outcroppings of smooth granite that rise several hundred feet above the forest.

Climate and drainage

      Steeped in the tannin-rich leaves covering the forest topsoil, the water flowing in the numerous streams that drain the Ituri is the colour of strong tea. Besides the Ituri River itself, there are many broad streams that flow generally from east to west. The most notable are the Nepoko in the north, the Epulu and Nduye in the centre, and the Ibina in the south. None of these rivers is navigable, even by pirogue, for more than a few miles. The streams are fed by rains that are highly variable from month to month and from year to year. Average annual rainfall is 75 inches (1,900 mm), and there are approximately 2,000 hours of sunshine per year. Average temperature at lower elevations is 88 °F (31 °C). There is a dry season that lasts roughly from December through February, when less than 7 inches of rain normally falls. By the end of the dry season humidity within the forest is reduced, and the smaller forest streams dry up. The heaviest rains fall in October and early November; rivers overflow their banks, and large areas of the forest become flooded, making walking through the forest or driving on the few available roads extremely difficult.

Soils

      The soils of the Ituri Forest developed from granites, gneisses, and metamorphosed rock of Precambrian age. In most places the soil is sandy clay or sandy clay loam, ranging in colour from reddish brown through ochre to yellowish brown and even white. The soils are acidic, and the layer of humus is thin. If exposed to the strong equatorial sun and high rainfall, as when the forest vegetation is cleared by Bantu farmers, the soil deteriorates rapidly, recovering only if it is again taken over by secondary forest. Traditionally, farmers have practiced shifting cultivation to allow the fragile soils to regenerate.

Plant and animal life

      The climax-forest vegetation left undisturbed by human occupation is characterized by three dominant species of tall, hardwood legumes in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae. In the south and west Gilbertiodendron deweverei dominates and can constitute 90 percent of the standing vegetation. The regions of the forest dominated by only a few plant species have less abundant and diverse animal life than the other, more botanically mixed areas, such as in the north and east. There, Cynometra alexandrii and Brachystegia laurentii, which together comprise less than 40 percent of the canopy, are interspersed with numerous other tall species (e.g., Albizia, Celtis, and Ficus).

      For many generations, people residing in the Ituri have been practicing a form of agriculture that entails clearing and burning the forest, growing their crops, and then moving after several years to allow the forest to regenerate during a long fallow period. This method of shifting slash-and-burn cultivation (slash-and-burn agriculture) has created a patchwork of climax vegetation interspersed with various successional stages of secondary forest on the sites of old gardens and abandoned villages. Some areas are a tangle of lianas and shrubs beneath emerging hardwood trees, while others are in less-advanced stages of succession, with large stands of umbrella trees (Musanga cecropoides). These various seral patches—combined with river valleys, swampy waters, rock outcroppings, and the most recent village and garden clearings near the roads—produce a mosaic of diverse habitats that provide cover and food for the greatest abundance of mammals in forested Africa.

      Situated near the forest-savanna edge, Ituri fauna include not only species typical of the African equatorial forest but also forms, such as the hyena, that are usually found on the open savanna. The most notable species is the forest giraffe, called okapi, which is endemic to the Ituri. Numerous forest antelopes include five species of duiker, the water chevrotain, and the pygmy antelope. Leopards, genets, and mongooses are the main carnivores. The elephant, buffalo, and bongo (a kind of antelope) are present in forms slightly smaller than their savanna relatives. The Ituri also supports the greatest diversity of primates of any comparable area in the world. The many monkeys include the terrestrial anubis baboon, as well as the leaf-eating imperial black and white colobus and the owl-faced monkey. The only ape is the chimpanzee. Hundreds of species of birds have been recorded; among them, the shy Congo peacock, discovered in 1936, is perhaps the most famous.

      Efforts to preserve the fauna and flora are largely confined to the Maiko National Park on the southern edge of the Ituri and the Okapi Wildlife Reserve (designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1996) to the northeast. Both offer some protection for such animals as the forest elephant, the okapi, the Congo peacock, the aardvark, and the chimpanzee, but poaching activities and destruction of forest habitat seriously threaten these and other species both outside and inside the park. Conservation efforts have also been disrupted by civil strife that began in the late 1990s and continued into the 21st century.

The people

      Based on their modes of subsistence, there are two principal kinds of inhabitants of the Ituri Forest: the nomadic hunting and gathering peoples, often referred to as Pygmies, and the village-dwelling agriculturalists, most of whom are Bantu-speaking. Neither of these two groups is isolated from the other; in many parts of the Ituri, villagers and hunter-gatherers practice a form of mutual interdependence, which includes the sharing of language and many customs.

The Pygmies

 There are four populations of Pygmies, collectively called the Bambuti, living in the Ituri Forest. Each Pygmy population is associated with a different tribe of Bantu- or Sudanic-speaking agriculturalists. The Sua are associated with the Budu (Babudu) on the western edge of the Ituri, near Wamba; and the Aka, of whom few remain, are found with the Mangbetu in the northwest. The Efe have the broadest distribution, extending across the northern and eastern portions of the Ituri, and are associated with the Sudanic-speaking Mamvu and Lese (Walese). The Mbuti live with the Bila (Babila) in the centre of the forest.

      The Bambuti hunt and gather forest resources (meat, honey, fruits, nuts, caterpillars, termites, and mushrooms), which they consume themselves or trade to their neighbouring agriculturalists. In return for these forest products, the Bambuti receive agricultural foods, cloth, pots, pans, ax blades, salt, and other material items not available in the forest. In general, the subsistence activities of men consist of hunting mammals and gathering wild honey. Women supply most of the calories by gathering nuts, fruits, and tubers in the forest or by working for the agriculturalists in the gardens and receiving food as payment.

      The Bambuti divide themselves into patriclans, each clan numbering between 10 and 100 members and having one area of forest to which it loosely claims exclusive rights. Marriage occurs through “sister exchange,” whereby a prospective husband must give a female clan member in marriage to the wife's clan before a marriage is fully recognized.

      In order to hunt and gather effectively in the forest, the Bambuti must remain mobile. They live in beehive-shaped huts, which they can construct in a matter of hours, and they move their camps approximately every three weeks to take advantage of the changing position of edible plants and animals. The Bambuti have few material possessions, no inherited offices or wealth, and no institutionalized headmen or chiefs.

      Different Bambuti groups use different technologies to hunt in the forest. The Efe hunt monkeys and forest antelope using bows and arrows, and for large game like the buffalo, giant forest hog, and elephant they hunt with spears. The Mbuti use only nets, with which they hunt antelope and other small mammals.

      The Bambuti are highly skilled musicians, and singing and dancing are important components of their life. Storytelling is highly developed and widely respected by all members of the society. The forest figures prominently in all Mbuti ritual and myth.

The village-living agriculturalists

      People practicing shifting cultivation have been present in the Ituri for 2,000 years or more. Most of these peoples, including the Bila, Budu, and Ndaka, speak one of the numerous Bantu (Bantu peoples) languages spoken in sub-Saharan Africa, but others, such as the Mamvu and Lese, speak tonal Central Sudanic dialects. In general, the agriculturalists live in small villages with 10 to 150 residents, all members of the same patriclan. Houses are constructed of saplings plastered with mud and leaf thatch for roofing. When Stanley traversed the Ituri, many villages were fortified and distributed more or less evenly throughout the forest. Disputes that sometimes escalated into armed conflict occurred between clans, and people were afraid to travel any great distance from their own villages. Between 1920 and 1940, the Belgian colonial administration created chiefdoms, imposed peaceful relations, constructed roads, and coerced people to move their villages and gardens to the roadsides, where most remain today.

      The staple crops of the agriculturalists are cassava and bananas, but they also raise for their own consumption beans, sweet potatoes, a variety of squashes, oil palms, and tobacco; rice, peanuts, and coffee serve as cash crops. Livestock raising is limited to goats and poultry. The agriculturalists also fish, and during the dry season they may camp in the forest to dam up forest streams. They also hunt using traps and snares, which are usually placed within short walking distance of their clearings.

Villager-Bambuti relations

      Each clan of Bambuti is associated with a specific clan of villagers, and individual Bambuti have close economic and ritual ties to individual villagers. Such close dyadic relations are often passed from one generation to another, creating a deep sense of kinship between Mbuti and villager families. While they spend most of their time in the forest, Bambuti rarely reside more than an eight-hour walk from “their” villagers, facilitating trade and social relations. While the Bambuti rely upon the villagers for starchy food crops and a few material possessions, the villagers profit by the Bambuti's skill at supplying highly prized forest resources, namely meat and honey. Bambuti also supply much needed labour around the times of planting and harvest, and they provide ritual and curative functions regarded as crucial by the villagers. Both Bambuti and villagers were adversely affected by civil strife that began in the late 1990s and continued into the 21st century.

Robert C. Bailey

The economy

      The forest has not played a large part in the Congolese national economy. Only a fraction of its area is exploited for timber because of difficulty of access. A few gold mines operated before the country gained independence, but extraction is now largely restricted to panning by individuals. Cotton growing has all but disappeared. Oil palm cultivation has declined to such an extent that the area is a net importer of palm oil. The larger coffee plantations are being replaced by small independent planters. An illicit ivory trade prospers, despite rapidly declining elephant populations. There are attractions for a tourist industry, but transportation and hotel facilities are poor or absent.

      Access to the Ituri Forest is extremely difficult. There are no public transportation facilities. Rivers and streams are unnavigable, and the few existing roads are all dirt and often in poor repair. From the southeast, entrance to the forest can be made from Goma, which lies about 125 miles to the south on the northern shore of Lake Kivu, or from Bunia, which is some 60 miles to the east. From the west the best road is from Kisangani through Nia-Nia.

Study and exploration

      The Egyptians knew of the existence of the Pygmies; Pepi II Neferkare (Pepi II), last king of the 6th dynasty (c. 2325–c. 2150 BC), had Pygmies at his court, and they were depicted on Egyptian pottery some 4,000 years ago. The German botanist Georg Schweinfurth (Schweinfurth, Georg August), arriving in the Ituri in 1869 from the north, was the first European to see and write about the Mbuti (The Heart of Africa; 1873). Stanley (Stanley, Sir Henry Morton) was the first to cross the forest from west to east, following essentially the same route as the present Kisangani-to-Bunia road. In the 1930s the Jesuit missionary Paul Schebesta undertook the first anthropological studies of the people of the Ituri. Since then, many aspects of the behaviour, ecology, and growth and demography of the Bambuti and their villager neighbours have been studied by anthropologists from the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Jean-Paul Harroy Robert C. Bailey

Additional Reading

An early work on the Ituri Forest is Henry M. Stanley, In Darkest Africa, 2 vol. (1890, reissued 1913), the tale of his 18-month journey up the Congo River from its mouth, across the Ituri Forest, and across Tanzania to the coast. Colin M. Turnbull, The Forest People (1961, reissued 1984), contains a beautifully written popular account of the lives and feelings of Mbuti living in the central Ituri Forest, emphasizing the importance of the forest to their subsistence, ritual, and spiritual life. Jan Vansina, Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa (1990), represents a ground-breaking attempt to chart the deep history of the forest peoples. David S. Wilkie, “Hunters and Farmers of the African Forest,” in Julie Sloan Denslow and Christine Padoch (eds.), People of the Tropical Rain Forest (1988), pp. 111–126, summarizes how agriculturalists and Bambuti have adapted to their tropical forest habitat. Robert C. Bailey, “The Efe: Archers of the Rain Forest,” National Geographic, 176(5):664–686 (November 1989), is a well-illustrated article by an anthropologist who lived in the region for three and a half years. Paul Schebesta, My Pygmy and Negro Hosts (1936, reprinted 1978; originally published in German, 1934), is one of the first true anthropological studies of Pygmies and their relationship with agriculturalists. Robert C. Bailey and N.R. Peacock, “Efe Pygmies of Northeast Zaïre: Subsistence Strategies in the Ituri Forest,” in I. De Garine and G.A. Harrison (eds.), Coping with Uncertainty in Food Supply (1988), pp. 88–117, studies in detail the diet and subsistence ecology of the Efe and discusses the difficulties of living in the tropical forest and the implications for the health of forest-living peoples. Luigi Luca Cavalli-Sforza (ed.), African Pygmies (1986), contains technical articles on demography, health status, growth patterns, genetic composition, and other biomedical aspects.Dennis D. Cordell

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