Lega

The Legaknown in other times as Warega, have been installed since the century XVII in the former Belgian Congo, then Congo Kinshasa and Zaire, and now Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the centre and south of the former province of Kivu. Located mainly on the hills of the left bank of the Lualaba River. They are organized around Bwami society, being the highest-ranking member of the clan. Their men are hunters and the women farmers of cassava. Bwami society is open to men and women, with men having to overcome four degrees of initiation and women. The Bwami company comprises seven degrees or stratifications: Bwami, Bombwa, Bubake, Pungyu (Pundju), Ngandu, Iyananio, Kindi. Le Bwami is at the same time an initiatory adult society, whose initial process lasts a lifetime, as life is a permanent initiation. Great initiation is reserved for marriages. There is also an initiation for young people and adolescents, Bwali for boys and Lyano for girls. The move to a higher degree is obtained through benefits to society in the form of donations, for example. In culture Lega there is no separation between the world from the profane and the sacred and between the visible and the invisible world. Life is sacred, and sacred are all the intentes and all manifestations of life. Masks, statues and other objects of art Lega are linked to the Bwami company and are used exclusively by the initiates. Elephant hunters make small masks, pendants and ivory amulets. MASCARAS LEGA Participate in initiation ceremonies. They have different types of masks, some are carried by the head or shoulder, or hand masks or on the floor during ceremonies. They also take part in other ceremonies such as those of the cult of ancestors. Types of masks: - Idimu : collective ownership of the clan. They don't go beyond 20 centimetres. - Lukungun: They may belong to private owners and be transmitted between relatives who have an equivalent degree in the hierarchy of their secret society. - Lukwan-Kongo: They are small masks worn on the arm. and indicate the degree. - Kindi: They are also small masks, marfi,l and belong exclusively to the highest degrees of the hierarchy. - most of their masks have a heart-shaped face and pretty bulging eyes on coffee beans. Those that fully cover the face are used in initiation ceremonies.