This 1939 black and white classroom film produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films in collaboration with H.C. Raven of the American Museum of Natural History depicts indigeonous Central African foragers, aka Mbuti, Bambuti, or Pygmy peoples of the African Congo. Emphasis is placed on methods of hunting and gathering food, while artisanal crafts of basket making and shelter construction are also depicted in this educational documentary short that uses dated language (TRT 20:07).

Opening titles (0:08). Dense tropical forests in the Ituri Rainforest region surrounding the Congo River. Thick masses of tangled vines and great tree trunks. A galago or “bush baby” clinging to a tree branch. A pangolin or “scaly anteater” (0:15). An Mbuti woman gathers dried vines and forms the structure of a domed shelter. A small child brings a pile of mongongo leaves to cover the shelter (0:56). Attaching the mongongo leaves to the framework (1:44). Branches are added to complete the shelter (2:10). A young woman and child search for, then dig up a tuberous root vegetable using a knife. Another woman gathers fruits from a vine (2:30). The two women and their children return to their settlement (3:20). Three men sharpen arrows around a fire (3:49). A completed bow is fitted with a string of vegetable fiber. A poisonous vine is whittled, heated, and pulped to extract a coating for poison arrows (4:13). Spear throwing practice. One man beats a hand drum while another twirls a fruit on a rope. Others throw spears at the moving target (5:18). A hunter plants a spear and checks a pit trap (5:47). A woman paints a man’s face in preparation for a group hunt. The hunting party in closeup. An Mbuti hunter tests a bow and arrow, showing several types of arrowheads. The hunters, young and old, disembark (6:12). The group walks through thick jungle brush (7:17). A father and son use a leaf as a cup to drink water from a stream. Then, the hunter takes aim with his bow and arrow. A monkey falls from the treetops. The child hauls away the slain monkey (7:52). Two scouts follow animal tracks. A young man whistles. The hunting party responds. A man throws a spear. The spear is retrieved from a small antelope (8:15). Two tortoises are easily caught (9:01). Back at the village, a tortoise is roasted over an open fire, then split open and wrapped in mongango leaves. A young boy eats (9:08). Men search for honey. One man climbs a vine while another makes a basket. A honeycomb is retrieved and eaten (9:49). Bark is removed from a log and fashioned into strips. The inner bark is pounded with an ivory hammer, then hung out to dry (11:02). Dye is produced from another ground wood, then applied to the bark cloth (12:12). A trading expedition. The leader of the Mbuti group speaks to the heavens. A shot of a cloudy sky. A collection of large ivory elephant tusks are uncovered from a rainforest cache and bound into bundles (12:47). Transporting the ivory (14:08). A small shrine is constructed (to the deity Mulungu, according to the narrator) (14:43). The trading party departs (15:43). A meeting with another neighboring tribe of taller natives (16:03). Both groups are seated facing one-another, with goods spread out before them: Bark clothed dyed with patterned designs, bows, a reluctant pangolin. The other tribe offers dried plantains, bananas, tubers, and iron blades (16:43). Bartering an ivory tusk for iron spears and tools, and a large knife (17:50). The trading party returns home laden with bananas (18:30). The spoils of the trade are distributed. One man prepares a grateful sacrificial offering of dried plantains at the constructed shrine (18:52). The Encyclopedia Britannica Films Inc. Logo: “Bring the World to the Classroom” (19:50).

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