The Forest People (Paperback)

~ Colin Turnbull (Author) "IN THE NORTHEAST CORNER of the Belgian Congo, almost exactly in the middle of the map of Africa, ... lies the Ituri Forest, a vast..." (more)
Key Phrases: elima house, molimo fire, molimo songs, Camp Putnam, Apa Lelo, Apa Kadiketu (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

From the Foreword by Harry L. Shapiro Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History The book is exceptional....The reader can enter into...the exhilaration of participating in a culture other than his own....Reading The Forest People is an unusual and satisfying experience. -- Review

Review

Margaret MeadAdds an entirely new dimension to literature on primitive people. The book is constructed with great dexterity, so that the reader is carried along by the charm and movement of the narrative, almost unaware of the underpinning of arduous scientific field work that lies like bedrock below....The reader feels sheer delight in an entirely new world.

From the Foreword by Harry L. ShapiroDepartment of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural HistoryThe book is exceptional....The reader can enter into...the exhilaration of participating in a culture other than his own....Reading The Forest People is an unusual and satisfying experience.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (July 2, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671640992
• ISBN-13: 978-0671640996
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,670 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Books > History > Africa > Democratic Republic of Congo
  #7 in	Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Ethnic Studies

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SURRENDER YOURSELF INTO ITS MAGIC, September 29, 2000

By	Kendrik Lau (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first read The Forest People when I was in college. I took an anthropology course, and I was absolutely enchanted by this book.

First of all, do not fear that this book is written by an anthropologist using dry and boring langauge and tried everything to stay objective thus being an impassion observer. This is not a book filled with statistics and boring observations and theories.

No, Turnbull described the life of the Mbuti pygmies with such color, exuberance, detail and a healthy dash of humour that you cannot help but just being entranced by this book. You will learn of their daily lives, their hissy fits with each other, their methods of punishment, their relationship with the "negro" villagers whom they think are animals because they do not understand the forest. You will see their marriage rites, the rituals of the Molimo and the celebration of the Elima, when young pygmy girls are first "blessed" by menstrual blood.

You will see the pygmies as individuals each with his or her own personality....Kenge the author's best friend, Moke an elderly and respected member of the Mbuti, Cephu the "bad hunter", beautiful Kidaya of the elima, who , Kondabate the pygmy belle who filed her teeth like a shark's, flirtatious Akidinimba with her infamously huge bosoms, "ugly" Aberi, Kamaikan, Kelemoke and even Amina, the daughter of a sub-chief from a nearby village. You will get to know them and feel as if you have known them all your lives.

The Forest People is one of the best books EVER written on anthropology. You can't help but think about how life, as simple as it seems for the pyymies, is still fill with both joy and tribulations. I have read this book many times and every time it still have not lost its magic on me.

This book was written in the 1960s. Turnbull have since passed away. I cannot help but think about what happaned to all these wonderful people we meet in the book today. Did Kenge have any children since? Did Kondabate ever had a child? Did Akidinimba stayed married?

I just wish that there's a sequel to this wonderful book.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A review on The Forest People by Colin Turnbull., January 25, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Forest People (Hardcover)

Colin Turnbull, the late English born Anthropologist and writer was the first to be able to study the pygmies of Africa first hand. The first to be accepted and befriended by these mysterious and beautiful people of the African Congo. In The Forest People Turnbull recalls his experience of living hidden within the forest with a family group of pygmies. He tells us the wearisome struggle that the pygmies battle for to protect thier culture and home. Turnbull also looks deeply into thier way of life and uncovers for us a world of playfullness and enchanting spiritualism. He teaches us the vital part that the rainforest itself plays in the pygmy's existance and also the holiness of all nature. This book was a delight to read and opened my eyes to the pure world that we live on but that is rarely seen.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A good story with a few flaws, October 14, 2003

By	Candace E. Pruett "kandachu" (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really liked this book. I had to read it for class, but i would recomend it to anyone. It was quick and easy to read. It was a good and sympathetic portrayal of these hunter gatherer peoples and it left me with a lot of respect for them and for the author.

There were only a couple of little things I would have changed about the book. I felt like a little too much had been edited out in some spots and the author was a little over sentamental at times. For my purposes i would have liked a little more of a scientific approach to some things, but it does make a very good story overall.