"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.
Local Numbers:
Z 3 ZAI 20 EE 72
General:
Title is provided by EEPA staff based on photographer's notes.
Local Note:
0097
Frame value is 12.
Slide No. Z 3 ZAI 20 EE 72
Collection Restrictions:
Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.
Collection Rights:
Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.
Genre/Form:
Color slides
Collection Citation:
Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution