The Forest People by Colin Turnbull

The Forest People by Colin Turnbull

In the 1950s, anthropologist Colin Turnbull lived among the pygmies of the Congo river for three years - this is his account of life among the tribespeople.

Adventurous as a young man, at the time he moved to the Congo Turnbull already had several years' experience of Africa and its rural cultures. Seeking to shed insight on the pygmy peoples for a wider audience, he sought a home in one of the villages and introduced himself to the locals. Quickly becoming popular in the locality for his courtesy and respectful manners, Turnbull kept a diary and took photographs of the locals, noting their customs and dynamics as a tribal community.

The interplay between males and females of the tribe are detailed, with rivalries and conflicts between the younger pygmies. Marriage and the duties therein define the tribe, with complex customs existing between existing and prospective couples. As the tribes live as hunter gatherers, it is necessary for a number of men to be skilled in gathering meat, fruits and vegetables, together with honeycomb - a substance prized by the pygmies for its deliciousness.

Turnbull does not bog down his narrative in academic jargon or complex nuance; rather we find an informal, at times even casual, account of life in a forest tribe. We receive a sense of the personalities and priorities accorded; this readability undoubtedly helps us better comprehend the pygmies' lives.

Turnbull, Colin: - Colin M. Turnbull was born in London, and now lives in Connecticut. He was educated at Westminster School and Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied philosophy and politics. After serving in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve during World War II, he held a research grant for two years in the Department of Indian Religion and Philosophy at Banaras Hindu University, in India, and then returned to Oxford, where he studied anthropology, specializing in the African field.

He has made five extended field trips to Africa, the last of which was spent mainly in the Republic of Zaü¾™¦”¼re. From these trips he drew the material for his first book, The Forest People, an account of the three years he spent with the Pygmies of Zaü¾™¦”¼re.

Mr. Turnbull was a Professor of Anthropology at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. He is a Research Associate at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and a Corresponding Member of Le Musü¾Ž–”¼e Royal d'Afrique Centrale.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781789872064
ISBN 10	1789872065
Title	The Forest People
Author	Colin Turnbull
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Pantianos Classics
Year published	1962-01-01
Number of pages	182
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
Note	Unavailable