Ambete

Located in the upper Ogué river basin near the border with the People's Republic of Congo. Their masks are not known, but their statues consecrated to the cult of ancestors and their reliquary statues with a hollowness on their backs to keep some of the remains of an ancestor. They have a secret association, Ngoye, made up of clan leaders and notables who practice a cult of ancestors that receives the same name. The relics of the ancestors kept in these reliquaries have supernatural powers. These relics were made up of small pieces of the skull, bones of the fingers and other parts of the body. These reliquaries were taken out in procession, for which they were provided with holes that allowed the passage of the walks. After the procession, the reliquas could be removed from its enclosure to be exposed to the members of the Ngoye to worship and exalt the ancestors. They were also used in initiatory rites. When not used, they were kept in secret places or in a sanctuary sheltered from the eyes of the profane.