Mbuti woman caring for child of the camp, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"Mbuti children are highly valued and are frequently passed from adult to adult to adolescent around the camp. Children therefore with so many caretakers available are quickly allowed free range of the camp. The demands of Mbuti women's work often require that they be out of camp in places where it is difficult to care for small children. A mother will often leave her child, for short period of time, with another lactating woman who will breast feed him or began to fuss with him." [Wilkie, D. S., 1988: Hunters and Farmers of the African Forest. University of California Press, Berkeley]. During his trip to Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited the Mbuti people at Epulu, South East Ituri Forest region. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for National Geographic Film and traveled to Africa from January 19, 1972 to mid April 1972.