The Lese are a group of part-time hunter-gatherer people living in the Ituri Rainforest of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In the depths of the forest they do not wear much clothing, using only leaf huts as shelter for their bodies in the intense heat. The Lese are Pygmies, and one of the shortest peoples in the world.
The Balesa (Balese, Balesse, Balissi, Lese, Walese, Walesse), with the kindred Mvuba (Bahuku, Bambuba, Bamouba, Mbuba, Wakoko, Wakuko, Wambuba), belong to the Central Sudani linguistic stock and are close to the Momvu. Among them live Efe Pygmies.
Lese is a Central Sudanic language of northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as a name for the people who speak this language. The Lese people live in association with the Efé Pygmies and share their language, which is occasionally known as Lissi or Efe.
Primarily agricultural, with hoe cultivation. The staple crop is bananas. Maize, manioc, millet, eleusine, beans, sesame, sweet potatoes, yams, rice (recently introduced), gourds, melons, and tobacco also are cultivated, but no oil palms. Goats, dogs, and chickens are kept, and under Babira influence there is some milking of goats and manufacture of butter, Hunting is left mainly to the Pygmies, but there is considerable fishing. Agricultural products are traded with the Pygmies for game and ivory. There are some markets (perhaps recent).
Men clear land, but women do all other agricultural work.
Flat pieces of iron are used as money. Inheritance is patrilineal — by sons.
One source speaks of large families, but they appear actually to be localized lineages
The typical settlement consists of two parallel rows of huts along a broad street, on which stands a men's clubhouse. Mvuba villages are palisaded. Dwellings are round and have conical thatched roofs and wooden (not wattle and daub) walls. The Balesa also have some rectangular dwellings.
Patrilocal clan-communities can be inferred, at least for the Mvuba. One source states that among the Balesa "one family formed a village." Circumcision has long been practiced by both the Bulesa and the Mvuba.
One aspect of the Lese–Efé relationship that is less than cooperative is the way in which they view each other. Efé often steal from Lese gardens, particularly around April and May when there is little food and the Lese are ungenerous about payment for Efé labor.
The Lese, on the other hand, view the Efé with something of a condescending attitude and see themselves as entirely separate entities. Efé are viewed by Lese men and women alike as being female. The Lese also see strict dichotomies between themselves and the Efé – they characterize the Efé as uneducated savages and see themselves as more civilized since they go to school and live in villages. Another interesting image they create is that of red versus white – the Efé and the meat and honey they provide are described as red, and the goods the Lese provide (dried corn, cassava, etc.) are closer to white in colour. However, Lese men describe Efé men as "devoted friends and protectors" and also find Efé women "stronger, more sexually attractive, and more fertile than Lese women". The Lese also believe that the Efé can hunt witches and protect the village from them.
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