Mboma
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Mboma, of which there are about thirty thousand, one of the Kongo-related groups, live in the area of Boma-Matadi on the Zaire River. They subsist on farming, hunting, fishing, and trading.
Luba
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Founded in 1585 by King Kongolo, the Luba kingdom of the present-day southeastern Democratic Kingdom of the Congo, peaked in the 17th century when it controlled a federation of kingdoms. Luba art is made for the veneration of ancestors, secret societies, and the king's court.
Lega
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Lega, a Bantu-speaking cluster of farmers who also pan for gold, inhabit the east-central area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Lega, who now number around 400,000, immigrated to this area from Uganda in the 17th century. The Lega do not have a centralized political system; instead they vest leadership and governance in Bwami, an age-graded association open to both men and women.
Mende
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Mende are rice farmers who migrated to Sierra Leone from various African territories in the 16th century and number about two million today. Within Mende chiefdoms, boys and girls are initiated into secret societies and remain members for life. These secret societies, Poro for males and Sande for females, serve as educational institutions that impart and preserve Mende morals and customs.
Mangbetu
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Mangbetu settled in the northeastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the 19th century and remained a political force until slave traders from North Africa arrived in the region in 1880. Many Mangbetu artworks are decorated with realistic-looking human heads with similar elongated heads and flared hairstyles.
Makonde
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
There are two groups of Bantu-speaking peoples called Makonde, totaling about two million people. One group lives in northern Mozambique, the other in southeastern Tanzania. Before the Portuguese colonized the Makonde in the early 20th century, the most important artistic works they created were carved wooden ancestor figures and masks.
Lulua
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the 18th century, a group of farmers and hunters of Luba origin, known as the Lulua peoples, migrated from West Africa to the Kasai region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The three hundred thousand Lulua live in independent villages ruled by a local chief in conjunction with a council of elders. The Lulua are known for crafting masks that are performed during initiation rites.
Mbala
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Related to the Pende peoples, the Mbala have been present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo since the 17th century. Two hundred thousand Mbala are agriculturalist who live in villages ruled by chiefs. They weave baskets, carve figures in wood, and, if rarely, produce masks.
Hausa
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
With a total population of over twenty-two million, the Hausa live primarily in northwestern Nigeria and throughout West Africa, including Niger, Cameroon, and Ghana. Hausa artists create work in a variety of media, including leather, metal, ceramics, and fiber, in which African and Islamic characteristics are often combined.
Hemba
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Previously considered part of the Luba peoples, the Bantu-speaking Hemba create art that is somewhat similar in style to that of the Luba, but represents a culture that is independent from the Luba. Today, the eighty thousand Hemba are farmers and hunters in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they live in large clans of families with a common ancestor.