**Edited Mon 22, 2008

It seems that a favourite pastime of humans is constant contemplation of our socio-political systems. To modern youth, for example, an ideal society would provide an individual with all the comforts they desire, but also never inconvenience others. We could never allow dictatorships or authoritarian regimes like China or North Korea, but when we face the likes of Saddam and Hitler, we run out of plausible solutions. We would not only like to eradicate all poverty and provide permanent electricity and food to everyone, but also heavily reduce the human footprint on Earth. Several such contradictions exist in the common liberal thought.

This is not an obsession of modern youth only. All throughout known history, philosophers, priests, politicians, scientists, and artists have tried their own fixes. We have so far tried various forms of communism, monarchy, and democracy, none of which have led to the fulfilment of a majority of individuals. So it doesn’t seem like the modern world has found a path yet. But perhaps a look into our own past would offer a solution. A good place to start is African tribalism.

It has been said before that the African tribes are much more egalitarian in their governance than those from the rest of the world. Though there is no scientific basis for such a statement and it probably is not true, when you compare the Yanomamo (South America) or the Imbi (Papua New Guinea) to the Zulu or the Kung, you can’t help but draw similar conclusions. I am sure this incongruity is caused by nothing more than the structure of modern anthropology. It’s just that those African stories that are more popular happen to be more tame then those American stories that are popular.

One such story is that of the Mbuti, a tribe of pygmies from Congo. A constant companion to the anthropologist (Colin Turnbull), and I am sure one of the most interesting people on our planet, Kenge, is a large part of the story. His exuberance for life and wild manners make almost everything he does very interesting.

There are many memorable scenes from “The Forest People” but the one that totally stands out in my mind is the trip Turnbull and Kenge take outside Kenge’s home (The Ituri Forest). They visit a number of local plantations upon which other already acculturated tribes work under the Belgian Empire. They also run into a priest who in one instance refuses to help an injured man because he is not Christian. But the best part comes when they decide to visit the Virunga National Park.

For those who are not familiar, this park is an absolute dream for naturalists. The peaks of the Rwenzori mountains are covered with snow. At a lower altitude vast grasslands cover the plains. At the very bottom, Lake Edward, one of Africa’s great lakes is surrounded by marshlands and slime forests. And

the night time would offer you the brilliant glow of lava from two semi-active volcanoes.

Or at least these were the conditions back in 1962.

(Incidentally, more than 95% of the hippos in this park have been poached since then) Anyway, back to the story.

Kenge was absolutely opposed to the idea of the visit. He had been told earlier that this was a land of “no trees”. Turnbull had tried to explain to him that the area they were going to visit was a grassland, and the density of trees was nothing compared to that of the Ituri. Kenge, whose tribe call the forest their mother and everything since it not only feeds them but also clothes them, could not imagine how anything good could come out of such a land, that is if it even existed.

What follows is something totally harrowing. I am not going to ruin the story for anyone reading the book, but it changes Kenge in one way, and gives the reader an amazing perspective into the minds of our ancestors.

The reason I am writing all of this is because I just discovered that in 2006, Kenge died. And I’d imagine that for anyone who’s already read the book, Kenge was somewhat of an icon. His people resisted a conversion to a more modern life style and stuck to their heaven.

The Mbuti, if they were like the other tribes, would have lived at a plantation labouring all of their strength and time to raise crops for their colonialist masters. This would have brought them real dollars, a sense of pride (though false), and a more “civilized” way of life. But by being amongst the very few to resist, they evidently enjoyed much happier lives and certainly left a lasting impression on science.

There still are a few such tribes left in the world – still uncontacted, though clearly aware of us. They might not be as utopian as the Mbuti, but their lifestyle is an ancient one and surely a part of our heritage. These tribes are under constant threat of exposure to miners, loggers, poachers, missionaries, militaries and governments. Their progenitors were never exposed to the diseases to which ours were, so their immune systems could not handle many of the viruses that live dormant within us. Anyone of us could unwittingly spread an epidemic between them.

There is a case for optimism here too though. Many of the world leaders from countries that harbour such tribes are becoming more and more aware of them. New additions to the Brazilian government seem to be very conscious to the native tribes and are actively taking steps to protect them. The president of Bolivia, Evo Morales, himself a native, also seems genuine in his care. But in Africa, trouble still looms. Wars and other conflicts have already changed the lifestyles of most such tribes, and they are causing further problems for the new converts too.

Kenge might be gone, but there is still hope for others. You can also help by donating. Governmental organizations such as FUNAI in Brazil are always a good place to start, but there are alternatives. Survival International is also a contender for your money.

Only about thirty years ago the term ‘first contact’ was so often heard, but now most people don’t even know such tribes exist. So let’s do something before we lose them completely and become a monoculture.

**Images taken from the blog of a very lucky man, who lived in the Congo and also met Kenge himself, Kim Gjerstad. http://kim.uing.net/1537/home.html?b_st=90&b_d=&b_cd=20070620&b_m=0&b_u=0&b_pi=3980&b_k=0&b_s=&b_o=DESC