The elephant hunt

This recording starts with the sound of the pygmy hunting pipes with which they call each other in the forest while hunting. To prevent their cracking, the pipes are often encased in the skin of a wild pig's tail shrunk onto the hollowed pipe while still wet. The cries and whistles are performed at the kill before they sing ther song of success at the death of Tembo, the elephant. This tribe of pygmy men are the genuine pygmies of the Ituri forest in central Congo, og which there are three groups, the Mbuti, the Mbenga and the Tshwa. They live by hunting in the forest by gathering honey ad by barter of these products, meat and honey for grain and cassava with the Nande tribe of Bantu who live on the edge of the forest. They have a remarkable technique for killing elephants first hamstringing the animal. They are simple, diginified little creatures with amazing powers of observationand stalking of birds, monkeys and antelope in the forest. They live in the simplest of shelters and frequently move in search of honey and game. Hunting song, with 2 hunting whistles, drum and sticks