ABSTRACT
Central African land ethics and ways of conserving nature come most sharply into view when one looks slightly to the side. Rather than planting monospecific fields that violate the patterns of biodiversity observed in the natural forest, generations of forest farmers have developed complex and diverse cropping systems that in many ways are modeled after what they see working in nature. Duateya’s narrative poignantly illustrates the vibrant interrelatedness that existed between the natural, social, and cosmological realms within the world views of Central African people such as the Ngbaka. Duateyas words reflect a world view in which nature, society, and cosmology are woven together in a web of interrelationship. A goshawk whistles from an unseen perch, a familiar sound that immediately conjures up many memories of walking the Ubangian savannas in earlier days.
