Prime
A traditional African hunter’s lessons to business leaders
Author: Raymond Mugisha. PHOTO/FILE
What you need to know:
- The practice of hunting is now long gone from my village, and much so elsewhere- but the rigorous demands and discipline of the trade convey simple but important lessons for work teams.
When I was young, hunting was a major activity around our village. A lot of the land that has since been fenced off for organized farming and or otherwise separated out for the exclusive use of its owners in other ways, was bushy and home to a number of animals. Hunters freely exercised their occupation on the land.
One of my earliest childhood memories relates to a scenario where my father and I were taking a walk in the village and met hunters coming from their day’s engagement. As my dad chatted with the men, I admired a quail which one of them was carrying, for its uniquely beautiful legs. I asked the fellow if he could give it to me. He offered to give me a rabbit instead, reasoning that it was big enough for me to enjoy with the rest of my family members. I insisted on the bird and he laughingly gave it to me. I later kept its legs as a “toy” until their deteriorating smell made my mother force me to throw them away.
I had a number of other interactions with hunters and also observed them doing what they loved. From their practice and discipline, I now see lessons for the present-day business leader.
Hunters trained a lot and readied themselves and their hunting dogs for the job
Sometimes you would hear the sound of clanging bells, announcing a group of hunters in pursuit of prey, but see no sign of any animal being pursued. This meant that the hunters were simply rehearsing and also training their dogs for the real game. Bells were always wound around dogs’ necks to scare animals into the open. These rehearsal sessions were so similar to the real hunting experience, in which real prey was being pursued, that one would not help admire the zeal of these men. It tuned the men’s abilities to run and the dogs’ alertness and their skills to sprint after animals, some of which were pretty fast themselves. These were critical requirements for both the men and the dogs in the real hunting situation. They stood no chance without being well tuned since they were to pursue animals in territories where animals had more familiarity and experience.
Every man and every dog was valued
As can be imagined, an animal subdued or killed as prey, would have one dog reach it first or have one man’s spear tear through its body before any other of the hunting party could participate in its capture. Although there would be circumstances where dogs could encircle and distress an animal into surrender collectively, the former was the more frequent of the scenarios. It did not matter whose dog subdued the animal first or whose spear delivered the critical blow. All the hunters and their dogs shared the meat from the animal. Granted, one could get a prized part of the animal for their unique contribution to its capture but everyone shared. When the prey was insignificantly small and could not be shared by the men and it was all that had been captured from the day’s job, the dogs might eat it all and every man goes back to his home with his dog.
Hunters understood details of their target preys and what it took to succeed
One particular animal, which was common prey, interested me. It was called “enuuma”. I am unable to tell its name in English. It was one of the fastest animals in the wild. Hunters used to say that this animal had one specific advantage that made it difficult to catch. Like any other, it commenced the race in ordinary manner. When the hunters, the dogs and itself, started to feel the strain from racing, it would engage a mechanism under its feet soles where there were tiny holes that also provided breathing channels. I do not know how hunters without lessons in basic zoology had discovered this. While chasing this animal, they would endeavor to trick it into either stepping in mud or stepping into water and back onto soil so that the breather holes under its feet got clogged. Indeed, when they did this, the animal would lose breath and get caught.
Hunters gave back to the community
I have already told an episode of generosity towards me by a group of hunters. It was common that hunters would freely give out some meat to people in the community. And they enjoyed doing it. It was a source of pride.
The practice of hunting is now long gone from my village, and much so elsewhere- but the rigorous demands and discipline of the trade convey simple but important lessons for work teams.
Raymond is a Chartered Risk Analyst and risk management consultant
