Lulua

LULUWA, LULUWA OR BENA LULUUA According to some historians Lulua or Bena Lulua did not become a village with its own identity until almost the end of the century XIXUntil then they were considered Lubas and they were formed by a number of small groups, each differentiated by their kinship and with independent leaderships. They are a Bantu people, settled on the banks of the river from which they take the name, the river Luluasouth of the Western Kasai, in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo, although some live in north-west Angola. They were mainly missionaries and colonizers at the end of the century. XIX who gave cohesion to these groups forming a people Lulua or Bena LuluaThat's why many people say it's an invented ethnic group. They share many cultural traits with the Luba, such as the matrilineal heritage, as well as with other sub-groups of the Luba such as the Kondji and the Luntu, whose origin dates back to the settlement of the Luba empire in Katanga. People mainly of farmers, hunters and traders, had to face violent refrigerants at the end of the colonial era, during the independence of the Congo, mainly in the so-called war Lulua-Baluba in 1959but they also had to face other peoples. This gave them cohesion and reinforced their identity as a people, although these armed conflicts between the Kasai and Katanga regions lasted for several years and cost many lives. In addition to farmers these villages were characterized by their great carving artists. His masks were used in the rites of his secret society and his sculptures were characterized by his many curious scarifications that were banned at the end of the century. XIX and many of them destroyed. That is why the statues that are still preserved, finely elaborated, with the numerous usual scarifications are prior to this date. Many of these figures refer to the protection of pregnant women. They practiced the Cibola cult, which is a cult of female fertility, in which the newborn could be reincarnated in a recently deceased ancestor. There are female statues presenting maternity homes with some instrument in their hands intended to protect the child to be born that receive the name of Cibola, as well as the name of the cult that is an important part of the Bwanga bwa Cibola cult also practiced by the Luba and the Songyé. Female statues with small breasts and prominent belly represent the importance of family descent.