Mbuti people during expedition to gather wild vegetables, Epulu, Ituri Forest, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"Mbuti women will spend hours gathering the abundant tubers and Dioscorea spp yams. Wild tubers are definitely not a preferred food, they are unpalatable, laborious to prepare. Great care must taken in selecting wild tubers; as although 'Njatu' and 'Kocho' are very similar in appearance, 'Kocho' contains deadly concentrations of the bitter-poison hydrocyanic acid." [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.