TABOO OF EATING BONOBO AMONG THE BONGANDO PEOPLE IN THE WAMBA REGION, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

Among the Bongando, an ethnic group living in and around the village of Wamba, a well-known base for research on the bonobo (Pan paniscus) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, it has traditionally been taboo to eat bonobo. In Bongando folk taxonomy, bonobos are categorized not as animals, but as human beings. The resemblance of bonobo bodily characteristics and behaviors to those of humans is the main reason for this categorization. While this recognition has helped in the conservation of this endangered species, social and cultural interchanges with other ethnic groups are changing the tradition of "folk conservation." Through interviews with villagers, we investigated changes in the eating of bonobo meat. This taboo persists in older generations, whereas a certain number of younger people have begun to eat bonobo meat. With regards to this change, bonobo conservation and the meaning of food taboo as a "cultural resource" is discussed

CHANGE IN LAND USE AMONG THE BONGANDO IN THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO

The change in land use of the Bongando people in the tropical rainforests of the democratic republic of the Congo was studied. this research used several datasets on land use from the 1960s to the present. Most of them are based on the long-term fixed point research in the Wamba region, where primatological and anthropological research has been conducted by a Japanese team. the patterns of change in land use across the years show that crop fields and secondary forest areas have been gradually expanding at a moderate pace. the Bongando people circulate crop fields mostly in secondary forest areas. in this sense, they render a minimum burden for the forest environment. Meanwhile, they frequently enter forest areas to stay in hunting/fishing camps. Such stays form a considerable portion of their subsistence. for nature conservation and development programs, this type of data-based information on local people’s land use is indispensable