Relationships with Strangers, Acquaintances, and Neighbors
The African Pygmies (Turnbull, 1961) had a symbiotic relationship with Bantu Negroes, an agricultural people with whom the Pygmies sometimes worked and traded. Whenever the Pygmies made a major meat kill, such as an elephant, the villagers came into the forest to join the feast. Because their customs demanded courtesy and sharing, the Pygmies permitted the villagers to stay as long as they desired although, after a time, the visitors became an irritant. To rid themselves of their unwanted guests, the pygmies engaged the Bantu Negroes in a gambling game at which the Pygmies were far superior; within a short time, the villagers were stripped of all their possessions and soon left the camp. This is a good example of privacy regulation, since there existed side by side cultural practices to increase social contact and another set of practices to reduce contact.