Coreena+-+CD+-+SP13

United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Résumé
__Name__ : My name is Aza Mboya.

__Culture__ : I am of the Bambuti people, who are also known as Mbuti people. The Bambuti are an indigenous pygmy group located in the Congo region of Africa, and there are less than fifty thousand of us left. An Mbuti pygmy is an individual whose average height is abnormally short, generally being less than five feet tall. In our groups, we typically live in smaller bands consisting of between fifteen to sixty people. Unfortunately, our lives are being severely threatened by restrictive laws, deforestation, gold mining, and so many other modern influences. A few people may describe the Bambuti culture and society as underdeveloped, but I believe it is much more that the Bambuti live virtuously within nature.

__Language__ : Bambuti people speak many languages within similar branches, mostly within the Central Sudanic branch and the Bantu languages, which is a sub-branch of the Niger-Congo languages. The three most common languages are Efe, Asoa, and Kango. Both Efe and Asoa are of the Central Sudanic languages, and are often referred to as Lese and Asuati, respectively. Kango is commonly known as Bila language, and is of the Bantu languages. Speaking a variety of languages within these branches would benefit a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador adequately, by allowing them to communicate their ideas and thoughts freely. An ambassador could communicate their ideas especially well amongst other native speakers of these languages.

__Beliefs__ : One of the most significant ideas within the beliefs of the Bambuti people is the idea that the forest is a caretaker. Bambuti people believe that the forest is their protector, provider, and most importantly, that the forest is a sacred place of worship. Sometimes, Mbuti people will refer to the forest as “Mother” or “Father”. Within Bambuti mythology, Mbuti people believe the most important god is Khonvoum, who is also known as Chorum. The belief is that Chorum is the god of hunt, and he revitalizes the sun every night by throwing fragments of stars at it. Moreover, Chorum is the god responsible for the creation of mankind, making various colored people from all the colors of clay. Bambuti people believe that they were created from red clay. These beliefs that the Bambuti people have would benefit a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador because these beliefs convey that Mbuti people have faith in something that pushes their lives forward. A good United Nations Goodwill Ambassador must be a person with distinct ideas and beliefs that make them individual. These beliefs reveal that Bambuti are real people with certain ideas that they hold true, and not just savages in the woods.

__Values__ : Mbuti people hold strong egalitarian views, meaning that they believe in the principle that all people are equal. In other words, Bambuti people support equality and equal power between everyone, especially between males and females. Furthermore, Bambuti people value working hard and cooperatively with each other, rather than assigning various individuals specific jobs. Regarding relationships, Mbuti people greatly value their nuclear family, which is shown in them working and living together closely. These values would tremendously benefit a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador because they are common values and concepts currently shared by people across the world. Since individuals internationally value these things as well, an ambassador with these same values will be able to represent them within the United Nations suitably.

__Behaviors__ : As hunter-gatherers of the forest, Bambuti people have many simple behaviors in common with other pygmy groups, such as living in small villages and trading within those villages. Mbuti people tend to hunt animals such as crabs, shellfish, snails, and monkeys with nets, traps and bows, as well as gather fruits and vegetables. Discussing behaviors unrelated to food, Mbuti males often trade their sisters or other females they have ties with to other males for marriage. Playing musical instruments like harps and drums while singing and dancing is also not uncommon. A United Nations Goodwill Ambassador would benefit from these behaviors because they have taught a person how to live simply without complicated technologies, other than tools used to hunt and gather. Being able to view the world from a sincere perspective would allow an ambassador to see possibilities and opportunities that otherwise would go unnoticed.

__Culturally Related Challenges__ : Unfortunately, the Bambuti people do have many culturally related challenges in addition to all of the benefits of their culture. Mbuti people have no ruling group or leading political organization, which means that they have very minimal social structure. This could be considered a challenge of the Bambuti culture because it is difficult for humans who have lived in the same ways for so long to change their ways. Bambuti people do not understand the concept of having a government to establish laws that they must follow, or the use of currency in an economy. An individual of the Bambuti culture would have to be taught these ways. A less significant cultural challenge of Mbuti people is the fact that English is not a common language that is spoken by their group. Considering that most of the world speaks English, it may be difficult for a person from this culture to communicate their ideas clearly or even at all.

__Works Cited__


 * Primary Sources **

Devin, Luis. "Fieldwork Audio-Photo Diary." African Pygmies. Luis Devin, n.d. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.

< [] >.

Pygmies: Endangered People. N.d. Caring. France 24, 2009. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.

< [] >.


 * Print Source **

Matson, Boyd. "A day with the Pygmies: in Africa's Congo Basin, I learn how to leave behind a small footprint." National Geographic Traveler Sept. 2011: 16+. Student Resources in Context. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.


 * Secondary Sources **

"Mbuti People." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Sept. 2012. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.

< [] >.

Stocking, George W., Jr. "The forest person: a life of the anthropologist Colin Turnbull." The New

York Times Book Review 10 Dec. 2000: 47. Infotrac Newsstand. Web. 29 Jan. 2013.