The African Mbuti Pygmies from the tropical Ituri Rainforest are especially known for the musical variety of both solo and chorus they provide to the world through Mbuti vocal melody. They have various types of songs which mainly describe their nomadic life and hunting.

Here are some amazing facts about the Mbuti Pygmies.

The most famous and interesting music of the Mbuti pygmies are recorded and recollected in Dr. Turnbull’s journal. The recording includes forest with the sound of hunting and gathering foods. It mainly beats around the Mbuti rituals and culture.

The Molimo, a sacred trumpet is considered an important ritual in the life of Mbuti pygmies. They love to believe that the forest is core to their existence. So they celebrate the Molimo as a tribute to the jungle after the evil incidents of death.

The Mbuti men sing out loud in voices of different animals as a major part of ritual of the Molimo Mangbo, mainly celebrated to save someone who is about to die, in the belief to hold the person back for a month or more.

The make of the trumpet is from a hollow long tubular structure which is carved out of wood. The blow of the trumpet is believed to make the ritual more holy and pay a tribute to the goodness of the forest.

It is a spectacular ceremony where every house of the clan contributes firewood, food and other necessities to light the bonfire. The men are responsible for the entire event where the women and children strictly stay inside their huts.

Aristotle had mentioned them as a mere myth of people belonging to trees in his accounts and since then they were known as mythical creatures that fly from tree to tree. The misconception was corrected in the 19th century when some explorers came across them down the Congo basin.

They make a camp and live in small families inside round shaped huts that are made from young saplings with large leaves as a protection from the rain. These camps are temporary as they shift from a place when there is not enough food and vegetation.

Over the years they have developed a political and economic relationship with the Bantu villagers who live along the periphery of the forests. They trade meats and materials with the Bantu villagers as well.

The Mbuti Pygmies are nature lovers and peaceful human beings hence they hunt only when it is necessary. Apart from that they spend most of their time singing and praising the beauty of nature. They do not like to engage in war with the outside world as they consider the forest as their deity.

The Mbuti believe in solving their problems all by themselves. If an individual is too stubborn to understand, he or she is abdicated from the clan for a time being and let alone to spend some time in the jungle until s/he comes back by him/herself.

The Zairean Government has forced the Mbuti to leave the forest and stay in permanent villages as extensive forest areas have been cleared out by gold seekers.