The Elephant Who Disturbed the Forest

An old, grumpy Elephant began to cause problems in the forest. He knocked down trees for no reason, muddied the drinking water, and frightened the other animals. This created akami (noise/conflict) in the forest, which greatly displeased the forest spirit, Jengi. A young hunter saw the chaos the Elephant was causing and knew he had to restore ekimi (peace/silence). He did not challenge the Elephant with a spear. Instead, he gathered special leaves and berries that elephants dislike. He followed the Elephant's path, rubbing the leaves on the trees and scattering the berries near the waterholes. The Elephant, finding the smells and tastes of his usual paths unpleasant, became confused and annoyed. He slowly changed his patterns, moving away from the parts of the forest where the people lived, and the peace was restored. The story teaches that the Bambuti do not seek to conquer the forest, but to live in harmony with it, using their deep knowledge to gently guide forces much larger than themselves back into balance.