Mbuti bow-hunters, near Beni, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"The Mbuti maintain nomadic habits and renounce all material wealth. They are unique in that they hunt using round wooden bows and feathered arrows without metal tips, (they occasionaly obtain these from their neighbours). They alone use poison for their arrows. The Mbuti described by Schebesta lead an extremely archaic way of life, based on hunting and gathering without any type of agriculture or husbandry." [Meurant G., Farris thompson R., 1995: Mbuti Design, Thames and Hudson Inc.]. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited the Mbuti people near Beni, South East Ituri Forest region. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from March 17, 1970 to July 17, 1970.