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fifly thousand square miles of na–
tional parks and game reserves are
dedicated to the preservation of the
flora and fauna. To date, not a
single square mile has been set aside
to aid the survival of the Pygmies,
Central Africa's oldest known sur–
viving people.
Their Ituri Forest home has been
red uced, at present, to less than ten
thousand square miles . This area
comprises onJy 6 2/3 percent of the
land reserved for the African ani–
ma ls. I believe that the Pygmies
have the right to live
in
this small
remnant of their original land.
T
am
now heading an organization dedi–
cated to the goal of securing for the
Pygmies their original forest land.
In an elfort to make more people
aware of the uniqueness of the Afri–
can Pygmies and the tragedy of
their imminent extinction, l wrote
my major publication
Pygmy Ki–
tabu.
But 1 felt that something visual
was also imperative. So, in the fall
of 1972, 1 made a full-length docu–
mentary on the Efé Pygmies, want–
ing to raise funds to help them in
their struggle for survival. The Zaüe
government was about to rule that
the Pygmies could not be photo–
graphed, since they felt that because
of their " primitive" appearance,
12
they are bad pubüc relations for the
new nation. With great difficulties I
managed to produce this graphic
document. incorporating in 90
minutes the essence of a lifetime of
observation and understanding -
the first and last ever to be made. It
was a labor of love and an almost
irnpossible task because of daily
rain, government pressures, lack of
competen! help, and my own physi–
cal limitation due to the loss of my
right hand in 1955.'
Upon my return to the Unüed
States I immediately started work–
ing full-time on the film with Hanna
Roman, a very competent editor.
Members of the
Plain Truth
stalf
became interested in my work. In
September
1973
the film "Pygmies"
was shown at a press preview at the
Academy Award Theater in Los
Angeles. It was a great success:
standing ovation and excellent trade
reviews.
The fi lm follows the Efé Pygmies'
life from birth to death, showing the
strange customs surrounding the
' In 1955 Jean·Picrrc Halle! sct out with a few black
hclpcrs lo relieve
a
desperale famone among the
Pygmoíd or part-Pygmy Mosso Lríbe of Burundo.
He emerged from this míssion of merey s ínglc–
hancled after an accíclcntal dynamíte explosío n
blcw off hís right hand
above
the wríst. He wrote of
thís and myríacl o ther experíenccs in hís excítíng
book
Congo Kitabu.
Pygmy birth which takes place in
the river, the colorful marriage cere–
mony, and the moving cremation
ritual. Their amazing precocity and
artistic creativity are illustrated for
the first time on the screen. Also
shown is the sacred Toré ceremonial
which precedes the hunt, and possi–
bly the last filmed elephant spear–
hunt. The Pygmies' tremendou s
warmth and the depth of their full
range of emotions are felt through–
out. The powerful n a rration by
Lorne Greene enriches its visual im–
pact. The film irnplies that these
wise and o nce happy so-called
primitive people hold a key to
our
emotional, mental and physica l sur–
vival, suggesting that "civilized" so–
ciety should establish a profound
and realistic understanding of life -
not as an automated existence, but
rather as a bas ic privilege.
l was sure that the film would be
well accepted. l never expected it to
be repeatedly rejected during the
next year by all the major distribu–
tors, for being " too honest, too artis–
tic .. . too good" - just not a
commercial movie which would go
for the average audience. "How do
you expect people to pay ... to see a
picture that has no sex, no violence,
no suspense and no staged drama -
PLAIN TRUTH January 1975