There are Many Countries and Cultural Groups

In the very heart of Africa, in northeast Congo, lies the Ituri Forest, a tropical rain forest that forms a dense wall of nearly impenetrable vegetation.  Gigantic trees form a canopy that blocks direct sunlight.  Vines, snakes, clouds of insects, leopards and constantly dripping water are part of everyday life.  Even the villagers in the surrounding cleared areas prefer not to venture very far into the Ituri.  Parts of it are still unexplored by outsiders.

But, deep inside this humid sanctuary the Mbuti people have lived for thousands of years.  They have not tried to conquer and change this giant forest but rather live in harmony with it.  In return it supplies all their needs. 

Standing little more than four feet tall, the Mbuti are better known to the rest of the world as Pygmies.  They are fun-loving, strong and tough, able to run fast for great distances. No one knows how long they have lived there but archeologists believe they may be the oldest inhabitants of Africa.  The oldest written record that has been found of the Pygmies was made during Egypt's Fourth Dynasty, approximately 4,500 years ago.  In the tomb of Pharaoh Nefrikare is a report from a man named Herkouf who was sent by the Pharaoh to find the source of the Nile River.  Herkouf told of encountering a tiny people in a great forest to the west of the Mountains of the Moon.  A people who sang and danced "a dance such as had never been seen before."