ABSTRACT
MYOWNapproachinthisstudyhasbeeneclectic,andthushasoften involvedpaintingoverwithbroadbrushstrokessomeareasinmyanalysis wheresufficientdatawerelacking.Toadmitthisisnottoapologizefor theinadequaciesofthepresentvolume.Definingthecharacteristicsofall culturalandenvironmentalvariablesisbeyondthecapacityofasingle investigatorinashortfieldstudy.Sinceitisimpossibletostudythewhole rangeofphenomenaaffectinganethnicgroup,thisstudyhasfocused primarilyuponthehuntingsystemanditsprocessesasdefinedforthe ValleyBisaofZambia.Conceptualdistinctionsamongthevariousaspects ofaculturalsystemareausefuldeviceprovidedtheycanbeshownto havevalueinpredictingandexplainingthebehaviorofagroupofpeople, andonedoesnotlosesightoftheinterconnectednessofwhatoneis studyingwithothersystemsintheoverallculturalmatrix.ValleyBisa menareawarethattheirideologicalinvolvementwithgameisatvariance withthefactsofsubsistence,yetforsometheirhuntingactivitiesserveto definethestrongestdistinctionbetweenthesexesinsymbolicterms.This hasbeenreportedofothergroupsinZambia,fortheBemba(Richards 1939),Luvale(White1956),andNdembu(Turner1957)valuehunting morethanagriculture,andyetinnocaseishuntingthebasisoftheir economies.
