Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
182
Unfortunately, in their dealings
For instance, the local big man likely expects money and gifts
to pass through him so that he himself can distribute them. A gift being given independently of
him questions his power, for he, as the father, is the provider. However, the big man is not without
responsibilities. Albert, in his rise to prominence in Kokolopori, found himself accosted constantly
for material support. The people accorded him a role of power, and he had to follow through by
offering what that role required. In this sense, colonialism could not have been sustained under the
Bantu system, for it did not dispense in relation to what it took, and the same was true of Mobutu,
who, though seen as a good leader and father of his people early in his presidency, later presided
over “the pillage of national resources, as well as the widening gulf between the vast majority of
the population and the very privileged minority resulting from it”—a state of affairs that a Con-
golese columnist in 1983 described as “worse than colonization.” N'Zinga N'Singi, “Fait du Jour:
Les Mains Sales,”
Elima
, February 18, 1983, 2, referenced in Schatzberg,
Political Legitimacy in
Middle Africa
, 169.
As Schatzberg explains it—and this is advice that conservationists should heed—“Put briefly,
the father-chief may eat, and eat well, but not while his political children go hungry.” Schatzberg,
Political Legitimacy in Middle Africa
, 168.
182
The men of Lompole
Parker, “Swingers,”
New Yorker
.
183
This is a disturbing scene
Frans de Waal points out in his critique of Parker's article, “The im-
pression that there are new discoveries is merely a product of creative writing.” De Waal is speak-
ing of discoveries relating to bonobos; however, given the snide tone of the article and the degree
to which Parker's credibility is questionable, his portrayal of Hohmann, while instrumental for an
examination of power dynamics between foreigners and local Congolese, may also be a product of
creative writing. De Waal, “Bonobos, Left & Right,”
eSkeptic
,
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/
183
It may not be a social
The message is that power has a price. From listening to villagers speak,
I sensed that there is a sort of grace period—usually after the big man has distributed the first
gifts—when they would allow him to take his place, to begin his work and get established, before
they expected him to honor his responsibility and begin sharing. He must then sustain a complex
chain of relations, supporting village chiefs and local leaders who themselves risk appearing to
have lost power with the ascent of the new big man. Gifts must also pass through them to others
and reaffirm their roles in society. No one should lose face or go hungry.
In Kokolopori, I often saw BCI's members negotiating the subtleties of this power structure.
They faced it in their interactions with traditional leaders and government officials, using cere-
mony and small gifts to show the people that BCI respected their leaders. They even worked with
these notions of power within the organization of the reserve. On the day that BCI took Alan Root
to the river, to explore the possibilities of ecotourism and get a sense of the landscape, Prosper Ba-
fosimo Losaila, the man Albert had put in charge of the reserve in his absence, behaved in a way
that would make sense to me only later.
Though Prosper was responsible for facilitating the day's activities, he let BCI do the organ-
izing and simply enjoyed the activities himself. When the dugout canoe was brought to the shore,
he immediately relaxed into one of the few chairs, and I suddenly realized the degree to which he
perceived his position as a symbol of power. Even people in Yetee, near the camp, explained their
frustration with him, that though they liked him, he was new to power and increasingly behaving
like a “big man,” without realizing the responsibilities that came with that. At the river, however,
Sally diplomatically explained to him that BCI very much needed his help in organizing the people
and that without him they would have a hard time.
Albert told me that he had struggled with this before, that abuses in the country had taught
many young people to see power without the responsibilities that it entails. He pointed out that
BCI had supported him, never undercutting his work but allowing him to operate in a way that
