Life In Hot, Wet Lands - The Congo Basin (1949)

[Music] this is one of the hot wetlands of the world the Congo Basin of Africa here broad deep rivers flow through dense tropical forests here life is not too difficult the weather is warm all through the year and there is abundant food in the forests and in the rivers fishing from a dugout canoe with a native boy his name is bumble the river the thick forests the warm moist climate all these play an important part in the way in which Bravo and his people live the river is important to these people it affords an easy way of traveling by boat and it also supplies food fish such as bomba was caught of course he likes to show off his catch bumblers luck has been good today but fishing is only a small part of bombo's daily life what else does he do and how do people live here there are millions of people who live in hot wet lands such as this in different parts of the world most of the hot wetlands are near the equator the valley of the amazon river the congo basin the Malay Peninsula and the East Indies are all hot wetlands of all these regions the congo basin in the heart of africa is one of the best places to study life in hot wetlands the people we have been watching live here on the banks of the Ubangi river one of the great tributaries of the congo in the moist heat of the congo region the bushes and trees grow thick and fast the path that Bombo takes is shaded by dense jungle growth while bumble was fishing his mother has been working in the garden bomble is proud to show his catch to his mother and little sister the fish will make a good meal along with food from the garden every family has a garden plot in this clearing the gardens are close to the village where Bombo and his people live here the jungle growth has been cleared away the houses in the village have fetched roofs of long grass the walls of the houses are made of clay and decorated with paintings this is the house of bombo's family one of Bonneville's friends has something to show him it's a baby animal that he caught in the forest suddenly as it does in this tropical and the rain context the villagers run for the shelter of their huts Bombo and his sister are snug and dry under the thatched roof see how quickly the grass roof sheds the water nothing to do but go inside till the rain stops mother is busy making flour so Bombo decides to take a nap his bed is a wooden rack covered with mats woven of palm fibres mother is preparing the vegetable roots grown in the family garden they are called manioc roots and mother founds them into a flower from which he makes bread for supper there will be many art thread in the fish Bombo quart mother is cooking the fish over a small fire the furnishings in the hut are very simple because little time is spent indoors the houses are used mostly for shelter from the rain after a while the rain just as suddenly as it began stops the village clearing which soon dries under the hot sun becomes an active place once again Bombo and some friends are playing a stopping game the boys stop as they catch a glimpse of bombo's father coming toward the village he's been hunting in the forest here's the result it's a guinea fowl a game bird that is good to eat the boys listened eagerly to the story of the hunt when Bombo and his friends are older they too will hunt game in the forest and help to supply their families with food a little later Bombo and his father sit down to supper it is the custom for the men of the family to be served first mother sets out the food cooked fish baked bananas and manioc bread the bread is wrapped in leaves in which it was baked whatever food these people eat comes from their gardens from the nearby river or from the forest after supper the villagers sometimes have a dance there are no movies or radios and dancing is entertainment as well as recreation Bombo enjoys the sound of the big wooden drums and the movements of the dancers sometimes the dances are part of a religious ceremony more often the villagers just dance for their own enjoyment but after an evening of fun the daily work begins again each morning Bombo and his sister sweep in front of their huts father too has his work to do he keeps his spear clean and sharp for he depends on it to bring down animals for food Bombo knows how valuable a good weapon is father is using a file to sharpen the spearhead the file is one of the manufactured articles that father gets from a trader who comes to the village today the trader is coming again to barter with the villagers but what can these people have that a trader might want let's go along with Bombo and father to find out on the walk through the village they pass neighbors at work this woman is making a jar out of clay that is found near the riverbank these men are building a hut the roof is thatched with long grass that grows near the river the framework is made of poles cut in the forest from the forest to comes an important product oil palm nuts these nuts grow at the tops of the oil palm trees to get the nuts bambbles father climbs to the top of the palm tree a few blows with a sharp knife and the cluster of nuts drops to the ground the palm oil from these nuts is used for manufacturing so and so they are valuable when harvested they are sold to the trader or exchanged for the manufactured articles he brings the arrival of the trader is an exciting event for Bombo the trader travelling in a large dugout canoe collects the palm nuts from the various villages along the river vandals father and some of the other men have brought their product for the traders inspection the trader inspects the nuts for ripeness and then satisfied with their quality he offers bombo's father a large knife it is called a muchacha a very useful tool for cutting jungle growth father accepts the knife and this barter is completed a little later all the exchanges are made the trader leaves with the oil palm nuts the villagers were their tools pieces of cloth and other manufactured items returned to their homes and see what Bombo has it's a brand new shirt that his father got for him from the trader the boy watches the traders boat moving away perhaps someday he will travel down the river to see how other people live if you want to remember how Bombo and his family live you will need to remember their natural surroundings the dense tropical forests the hot Sun the frequent rains and the Ubangi river that flows through the Congo Basin one of the hot wetlands of the world [Music]