The Mountain People Essay

Ik people, the ethnic community from Uganda, have presented an interesting issue for examination since their tribe was discovered. Being hunting and gathering community, Ik people were moving around the Kidepo valley and mountains of Uganda, living in small temporary villages surrounded by outer walls.

Colin Turnbull, famous British-American anthropologist, was studying various African tribes for many years. In one of his books, The Mountain People, Turnbull describes the Ik people in the period of close examination. Turnbull stayed with this tribe for several years and studied the Ik people’s customs, traditions, culture, and other key aspects of their life. The book was published in 1972, and became very successful yet rather controversial. The moral aspect of The Mountain People remains a questionable issue nowadays. Turnbull studied the Ik people in very acute period for them. The area of Kidepo valley became a national park, thus the tribe had no place to hunt and feed their families. The Iks suffered soundly from famine, and Turnbull was participating in tribe life in this very period influencing significantly its moral values.