African Expedition Magazine Volume 4 Issue 2

abandoned in the bottomless sea of green with all my gear.

Because of how this hunter was ultimately treated, along with the rest of the porters, my return in 2011 was more like a homecoming. I had my choice of over 40 porters and even had one porter follow us for two days to catch up with us and claim a load, just as he had nine years before. I was very pleased by this, as it showed me a loyalty I had only hoped for.

I was continually reminded that what an intrepid explorer needs to do is constantly remember the vast gulf of cultural tradition that separates a western hunter and a B’Aka hunter. Although we have many of the same common goals in mind the B’Aka is used to tracking his game and so an early start is not critical. Tracks will be there just as much after the dew dissipates, and it is much more comfortable to track while dry. B’Aka hunters like to be back in camp by dark, or even well before, so they can sort out sleeping arrangements. After all, he has no flashlight and the resin torches he makes are too valuable to use every night. Once a large animal is shot there is no need to do anything but feast and sleep. The concept of continuing hunting is ridiculous, as anyone can see you cannot carry any more meat anyway. In fact the whole idea of keeping the horns and skin, which are not edible, is so crazy he has a very hard time conceiving of what it is we do with them. It is attributed to some sort of very powerful magic.

In any case, I was fortunate enough to return to Congo a long nine years after my last trip with the B’Aka. I was disappointed to discover that three of the thirteen porters and guides I had previously employed were dead, but the rest were thrilled to welcome me back.

In spite of remoteness of the village, it had changed much more than I had anticipated. While previously I had bought good working crossbows with the poison still dripping from the arrows, on my return I was hard pressed to find even a broken down one for sale. I could not find any of the B’Aka who still used them to hunt monkeys. The honey pots fabricated from bark were no longer readily available and it seemed many of the traditions were disappearing. None of the younger B’Aka drilled a hole in their upper lip to provide a feeding hole for possible tetanus, and many fewer scarred their faces or sharpened their teeth to points. The forest spirit dance I requested brought a lot of consternation, and when it finally took place it was obvious that they had gone out and fabricated the costume of the spirit just for us. Even in the B’Aka world things are in rapid flux.

Volume 4 Issue 2 AFRICAN EXPEDITION MAGAZINE | 33