This chapter examines the flexibility of social organization characteristic of two East African small-scale societies, the Mbuti Pygmies of the tropical rain forest of the northeast Congo and the Ik of the dry, open mountains near the borders of Uganda, Kenya, and Sudan. Both the Ik and Mbuti, as hunters and gatherers, work within their respective environments rather than attempting to alter them. The residential units of both net-hunters and archers constantly change in composition as individuals and families circulate between the territorially based bands. Naturally, the methods of exploitation of the resources vary according to the environment, as does the hunting organization and the gathering pattern. Function of flux might be said to be religious, for, by deemphasizing stability in interpersonal relations, the process throws the people into closer recognition of the one constant in their lives, the environment and its life-giving qualities.
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