African Arts Gallery

ThisAfrican Luba figureis depicted in a classical pose, hands on her chest. Her headdress, behind a wide band uncovering a traditionally shaven forehead, is similar to those worn by luba women in the early 20th century. By its symbolic gesture it indicates that the secrets of royalty (the bizila) belong to women through their role as political and spiritual intermediaries. Ochre brown satin patina. Erosions.
The Luba (Baluba in Tchiluba) are a people of Central Africa. Their cradle is Katanga, more precisely the region of the Lubu River, thus the name (Baluba, which means "the Lubas"). They were born from a secession of the Songhoy ethnic group, under the leadership of Ilunga Kalala, who had the old king Kongolo, who has since been venerated in the form of a python, die. In the sixteenth century they created a state, organized in decentralized chieftaincies, which extended from the Kasai River to Lake Tanganyika. The chieftaincies cover a small territory with no real borders, and include no more than three villages.