Children of the Forest - Mbuti Throughout the history of our world there have been many different types of cultures that have defined entire races of people. Each of these cultures has shaped communities and people into who we are today. One culture I would like to talk about is that of the Mbuti pygmy tribe. Sometimes called “Bambuti,” they are one of several indigenous pygmy groups of Africa that can be compared to the Ju/'hounsi. The Mbuti are considered the truest "Pygmies" because their average human height is 5 feet 1 inch. They live in the dense Ituri rainforest in the Democratic Republic of Congo called Zaire. They have a population that has never been successfully calculated because no official census has been recorded, but missionaries and administrators in the area estimate the population to be around 40,000. Of this population, small nomadic groups are made up of 20 to 100 people per group and are settled in the forest. Their environment is very humid with rivers and lakes and high rainfall, but has a two-month dry season. In the rainforest, the disease can be common and spreads rapidly not only killing humans but also plants and animals. In their culture they adopted subsistence hunting and gathering due to their demographics. This way of life makes the food supply highly unpredictable because animals take time to kill. In this system, men hunt and women gather. The most common animals hunted are small animals, deer, wild boar, and occasionally elephants and hippos. Their hunting process is called "Net Hunting", a group will set up nets on plants and trees that are undetectable by animals. Subsequently the women and children push the game towards the nets by making noises and movements. At... middle of paper... uhoansi, Yanomami and the Sambia. To begin with, one of the main similarities is the demographics of each of these cultures. One key point I really want to touch on is the kinship comparison between Juhoansi and Mbuti. Some similarities I noticed right away were that both cultures had a mother and father system where both parties are treated equally. Basic information about your sources: My first source is from the "eHRAF ​​World Cultures" website provided to us. From this website I was able to find the Mbuti culture and understand what it is all about. My second source was a website called "Cultural Survival", where they talk about politics and reciprocity. My third source was another website called "Peaceful Societies", where I was able to find in-depth information about the cultural life of the Mbuti and their economy.