DOWNSTREAM IS THE FUTURE PASSED BY (The Mention of God Series)

DOWNSTREAM IS THE FUTURE PASSED BY recounts the wisdom and insight of the Ntumu tribesmen in the Ntem rainforest of Cameroon, and touches upon their metaphoric understanding of the universe, temporal perception, social unity, style of consultation, collective security, and cultural apprenticeship. DOWNSTREAM IS THE FUTURE PASSED BY is autobiographical and the story of one day in the life of a young anthropologist in Africa. Papa Atanga, the village elder who has been assigned by the tribe to answer the researcher's inane questions, has renamed the stranger in their midst: the Ntangan, literally, "he who has not suffered." The village finds this a humorous yet apt characterization, because people usually learn from the experiences of life, especially the painful ones. This name alludes to the reason why the Ntangan doesn't seem to know much about anything important. For the Ntumu, the goal of life is wisdom and the acquisition of wisdom requires an apprenticeship. In the view of the tribesmen, the Ntangan has somehow avoided learning from life's lessons, and in the words of Papa Atanga "not yet fathomed the depths of his own superficiality." In the cultural apprenticeship that develops, it is Papa Atanga's duty to supply the anthropologist with enough suffering so that he can unlearn most of what a university education has burdened him with. On this particular day, the Ntangan is made to stand in a river and answer a simple question.