Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa. (exhibition preview).

"Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa" is a collaborative effort between the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City and the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History. Drawing from the collection of Jay T. Last, the exhibition's curator, Elisabeth L. Cameron, selected approximately 240 animal and human figures, masks, and other objects for inclusion in the opening installation at the Fowler Museum (October 28, 2001-March 10, 2002). "Art of the Lega" will travel to the following institutions: The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (October 6, 2002-May 4, 2003), the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (winter-spring 2004), the University of Michigan Museum of Art (fall 2004), and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (fall 2005). Additional venues are under discussion.

Cameron wrote the companion publication, published in 2001 by the UCLA Fowler Museum and distributed by the University of Washington Press (236 pp., 396 color & 14 b/w illustrations; $65 hardcover, $40 softcover).

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Lega sculpture appeals to both the eye and the mind. Pure, simple shapes and elegant lines brilliantly demonstrate the virtuosity of this artistic tradition. Each miniature masterpiece is, at the same time, part of a complex visual vocabulary used by members of the Bwami society to teach their moral code. "Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa" explores both the Lega aesthetic and the place it holds in society. The exhibition is drawn from the collection of Jay T. Last, who began acquiring these sculptures in 1962. (1)

The genius of the Lega artist lies in his ability to produce a work that fulfills the requirements of the Bwami patron, fits carefully within the canon, and yet is artistically unique. If one assembled a group of masks, for example, each would be seen as unmistakably Lega but individually different (Fig. 30). Thus, attempts to describe the style can be singularly frustrating. The face is heart shaped, except when it is not. The figures are extremely simplified, except when they are not. As aptly expressed by Ralph Altman, "Balega art ... consists mainly of an infinite number of variations of a few motifs and forms of sculpture" (1963: n.p.).

Although only a few scholars have conducted field research among the Lega, the simplicity, strength, and abstract nature of their forms have long attracted the attention of the Western art world. Scholars and connoisseurs have always rendered judgments on the quality of Lega (and African) artwork based on their own art historical framework. As a result, the published commentary documents the change in European taste rather than any change in the art. Commander Delhaise, the Belgian administrator assigned to the Lega area in 1906 and 1907, reflects a Victorian aesthetic in his characterization of Lega figures as "crude" and "coarsely executed" (1909:210, 275). Once African sculptures became models and inspiration for Cubism and the styles that followed, Lega art was favorably reevaluated. Frans M. Olbrechts stated that Lega sculpture "shows more virtuosity in the rejection of all realism" (1982:91). Ladislas Segy described ivory figures as "executed with great simplicity in angular form" (1952:227). Joseph Cornet called these works "extraordinarily expressive despite their simple, almost classical lines" (1971:261).

Lega art was first documented as appearing in Arab markets in the nineteenth century and has been known to Westerners since the beginning of the twentieth. Early explorers, however, avoided the Lega area because of the defenses the peoples there had developed to fend off Arab incursions. Only after the Belgians took control of the Congo in the late 1800s do we begin to see an interest in the Lega and their culture, politics, and arts. This interest was problematic: colonial officials documented the Lega in order to control and exploit them.

Belgians in other capacities published what they had observed. Most published work is based on the writings of Daniel Biebuyck, who conducted field research among the Lega during the 1950s. Several Lega scholars, including Itongwa Mulyumba wa Mamba (1968), Muyololo Lutala Amuri (1974), and Yogolelo Tambwe ya Kasimba (1975), have provided insiders' perspectives that differ from the accounts of their European colleagues. The combination of all these sources makes possible a vivid reconstruction of the Lega world.

The Bwami Society

All Lega art in Western collections was once owned and used within the structure of the Bwami society, a voluntary association for men and women. The Lega peoples are unified not by chiefs but by Bwami, which cuts across clans and territories. The society safeguards the moral and social code necessary for the Lega to live together in harmony. For example, it teaches filial respect, marital fidelity, nonviolence, and cooperation. Bwami is also the political power that allows the Lega to live at peace with their neighbors (Biebuyck 1973:68; Vansina 1990:183).

The society is composed of levels or grades. Throughout a lifetime, an individual may choose to climb to the highest levels of knowledge and leadership. Entry into any grade takes place through an intensive initiation (mpala) that lasts several days and incorporates seven or eight performances. It is during this time that the owners or guardians of Bwami artworks bring them out, displaying and manipulating them in combination with music, drama, dance, and sayings. Through these layered performances, which can be viewed as visual metaphors, initiates learn the moral code of their society. They are forced to consider the juxtapositions of manufactured objects, artworks (including animal figures, human figures, and masks), sayings, dance, drama, and more, and discern their meanings. An object rarely carries a unique message by itself. The best-known and most sought-after teachers are able to create new metaphorical combinations that transform the individual elements into startling, memorable, and specific messages.

Lega metaphors explore standards for living--values and morals, comportment, social and familial relationships, and legal, ethical, religious, and political codes. The pieces become more than mnemonic devices or visual aids; they are an integral part of the construction of meaning. Starting with initiation into the society's first level, the novice is taught how to uncover the meanings of these visual metaphors, much as literature students are taught how to interpret written metaphors. The Bwami member, over time and through many initiations, gains the exclusive knowledge (kizio) needed to understand the teaching and gain izu, the Bwami moral code (Biebuyck 1986:66).

The significance of the artworks is inaccessible to the uninitiated. The Lega say, "He who sees the large lusembe-cowrie bare [i.e., for the first time], indeed! he finds it useless" (Biebuyck 1982:64). For the outsider, the objects maintain a "deliberate vagueness, nebulosity, and ambiguity" (Biebuyck 1969:12) that help preserve their power within Bwami (Biebuyck 1981:120).

Performances involving art objects take place in cycles or "dances" throughout the days of an initiation. Because the teacher prides himself on his artistry in putting together different elements in a performance, few performances are ever repetitive (Biebuyck 1977:26). Once the initiation is complete, the owners put away the artworks until the next ceremony.

The new member of Bwami, after returning from his initiation into the lowest level, drives a wooden stake into the ground by his front door. He adds a stake for each additional grade attained so that anyone passing his house knows specifically what he has achieved (Corbisier 1968:12). While initiations are held in private, and ceremonies, artworks, and knowledge are restricted to members of that level, it is important for everyone to know who belongs to Bwami and what rank they hold.

Bwami Insignia

Bwami insignia are public proclamations of rank and status within the society. In addition to the wooden stakes, they include hats (Figs. 2, 3), belts, armbands, girdles, pendants, necklaces, rattles, stools (Fig. 4), and staffs (Biebuyck 1973:182; 1986:131; 1994:30). Some insignia, such as hats, necklaces, belts, and girdles, are worn daily (Biebuyck 1973:91). Others--baskets, stools, rattles, and staffs--are carried by members on their way to an initiation, alerting those they pass on the road that they are not to be disturbed.

[FIGURES 2-4 OMITTED]

Unless otherwise noted, all artworks illustrated in this article are from the collection of Jay T. Last and are promised gifts to the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.

Ivory spoons, kalukili or kakili, seem to emphasize continuity (Biebuyck 1973:226), perhaps through reference to feeding and growth (Fig. 5). The word kalukili also designates an heir (Biebuyck 1983:59). Older high-level members of Bwami eat their porridge with an ivory spoon, reminding all those watching of their status and value to the community. Members symbolically feed performers wearing masks (Biebuyck 1973:180), who then chew slowly and painfully. The saying "Old-Turtle is eating pounded bananas" (Biebuyck 1983:58) compares these masqueraders to the elderly Bwami member who must eat soft food because of the poor condition of his teeth.

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

While insignia and utensils are in the public eye, knowledge of the other artworks and their meanings is restricted to the appropriate levels of Bwami. Members are introduced to the artworks in a set sequence. Teachers in the first initiations rely heavily on sayings to create their layered metaphors. They add drama, music, and a few simple items, usually natural objects like bird beaks, animal claws, and pieces of wood that may have been joined together in various ways (Fig. 6). These found objects are used throughout all levels of Bwami. Members then progress successively to the animal forms, human forms, and masks that are primarily reserved for the two highest levels. The possible multiple connotations of each initiation object provides a richness of meaning.

[FIGURE 6 OMITTED]

Animal Figures

The first sculpted figure an initiate acquires is zoomorphic. The Lega have extensive knowledge of the physical attributes and behavior patterns of the animals who share their environment. Animals can be represented in initiation by people imitating them in various ways; by a portion of the creature's anatomy, such as the beak, claw, or tooth; by simple assemblages of sticks; or by an artist's carving in wood or ivory (Biebuyck 1986:101-2). There are two types of sculpted zoomorphic figures: generic four-legged animals (mugugundu) (Figs. 7-9) and figures of specific animals. Both types are owned solely by high-level Bwami members. In performance, the generic figures appear in groups to represent mainly dogs, pangolins, and antelopes. (2) The highest-ranking members of Bwami who carry out specific responsibilities--a teacher or sponsor of initiations, for example--own figures of particular animals (Biebuyck 1994:54) such as birds, pangolins (Fig. 10), and snakes (Fig. 11).

[FIGURES 7-11 OMITTED]

Human Figures

The Lega recognize multiple categories of human figures (Biebuyck 1986:51-52) (Figs. 12-18). Members of the two highest levels of Bwami can individually or collectively own these images, depending on the identity of the piece. All figures, however, are initiation objects and share certain characteristics: they appear in layered metaphors; they present positive and negative role models of the Bwami ethical system (Biebuyck 1986:61); they are viewed only during initiations. Therefore, noninitiates or Bwami members of lower ranks do not see or theoretically know about their existence (Biebuyck 1986:58--60).

[FIGURES 12-18 OMITTED]

Some individual human figures can be given specific, often unique, names and meanings. If a piece is removed from its context without these being recorded, it is usually impossible to recover that information. Exceptions occur with figures that have a common meaning expressed in specific poses or physical characteristics. An example of this is the type called Sakimatwematwe (Many-Heads), whose multiple heads can be rendered in an interesting variety of ways (Figs. 19, 20). But whether it has two heads or twelve, or has a body or not, the multiheaded figure has the same meaning and function (Biebuyck 1981:120). The saying most often connected to Sakimatwematwe is "Many-Heads who has seen an elephant on the other side of the river" (Biebuyck 1973:220-21). Nicholas de Kun explains: "A hunter goes across a great river, sees an elephant on the other bank, returns to look for other hunters to help but when he returns he finds that the others have already killed the elephant" (1966:88). Biebuyck suggests that the saying stresses the ability of the high-level Bwami members, as a result of the initiation process, to see in many different directions and to be wise and fair-minded (Biebuyck 1973:220-21; 1981:121).

[FIGURE 19-20 OMITTED]

Another example is the figure in the form of a sleeping mat. In Lega thought, sleeping mats (katanda) imply laziness and sexual laxity. An often-used metaphor compares a swarm of red ants (katanda ke ibazi) to a mat of ants. Further, a sexually promiscuous person (also understood metaphorically as a mat) spreads disorder in a community in the same way that red ants can besiege a town (Defour n.d.:169). The holes in the katanda in Figure 21 represent the destruction caused by ants. The holes are also interpreted as the ants in the "mat of ants" (Biebuyck 1973: pl. 63). The saying most often used with the mat is "I used to love you; fondling destroys good ones; it has destroyed Katanda" (Biebuyck 1973: pl. 63).

[FIGURE 21 OMITTED]

The finished human figure within the Bwami context is likened to the initiate's body--washed, shining, and proud (Biebuyck 1986:96-97). Most of these sculptures exhibit the desired physical qualities of the Lega man: large forehead, shaved head with a cap marking membership in Bwami, and upright posture (Biebuyck 1986:64). To strengthen this comparison, before a piece is used (and occasionally in a performance), it is removed from the Bwami basket and cleaned, oiled, and, where appropriate, rubbed with white or red powder. These actions duplicate those of the initiate preparing himself or herself for the ceremonies. Figures might also display the "aesthetics of the ugly" to illustrate negative traits or behavior. An example of a cautionary figure is Wayinda, a woman who, while she is pregnant, commits adultery and brings ruin to her family (Fig. 22). Usually crudely carved, she displays prominent genitalia and a distended stomach (Biebuyck 1973: pls. 67, 68). Her husband is also often portrayed (Fig. 23).

[FIGURES 22-23 OMITTED]

Masks

Masks constitute the final category of objects seen by a Bwami member (Figs. 1, 24-27). Like many initiation objects, the Lega mask can be assigned different uses and meanings depending on the context of the performance (Biebuyck 1954:113). In Bwami ceremonies, masks are attached to different parts of the body, piled in stacks, hung on fences, displayed, dragged on the ground, and occasionally worn on the forehead with the beard draped over the face of the wearer (Biebuyck 1973:167-68; 1994:42). They serve as important markers of rank, identifying the owners as :members of specific Bwami levels (Biebuyck 1986:125-26).

[FIGURES 1, 24-27 OMITTED]

Lega categorize masks on the basis of form and material but Westerners usually define them according to function: "mask" describes an object that covers the face and/or transforms the wearer. (3) According to this definition, file Lega have very few, if any, true masks. (4) Most are sculptures of a human face that are rarely worn over the wearer's face and never for purposes of true transformation (Biebuyck 1993:190). (5) The sculpture is held in the hand, and multiple handles carved on the back facilitate manipulation by a senior Bwami member (Fig. 28). That person can be compared to a puppeteer and the mask to a puppet. Characterization occurs around the mask, but the puppeteer is not transformed. The sculpture can assume the roles of many different characters during performances.

[FIGURE 28 OMITTED]

Lega masks also differ from other African masks in that while women do not own them, both men and women handle and present them in similar performances. Biebuyck gives several descriptions of women using different masks, including idimu and lukwakongo (1986:133, 145, 149, 175). He stresses that the only mask a woman uses is the one belonging to her high-ranking husband (Biebuyck 1994:50).

The features of the mask carry meaning that is shaped and intensified by action (Biebuyck 1986:126). An unspeaking carved mouth refers to the pursed lips of the displeased teacher. The masks with no eyes might represent the old, blind, high-level member of Bwami who is the best advisor (Cover). Those who have passed the first level of men's initiation are given a hat that is to be worn the rest of their lives; the fact that these masks are hatless recalls the candidate who was unsuccessful because he or she lacked a sponsor or teacher. Dotted designs represent facial scarifications and remind the viewer of the fleeting nature of youth (Biebuyck 1994:52).

The final initiation takes place when a man is older, wiser, and familiar with all of Bwami visual culture. Therefore, the object combinations hold fewer surprises. The final performance strips away all metaphorical layers. The teacher escorts the initiate into an area where initiation objects are carefully laid out. No explanations are given: the initiate is left to understand the meaning through contemplation of the exhibition (Biebuyck 1994:42).

Creation of the Artwork

When a new artwork was needed for a particular ceremony the sponsoring Bwami member commissioned the piece. A man who wanted to be an artist would apprentice himself to someone in his mother's family; the best match was between a young man and his mother's brother (Biebuyck 1976:340). There are two names for artists in Kilega, the Lega language: mubazi wa nkondo, or "carver of the adze," (6) and mulongo, or "person who fits things together" (Biebuyck 1973:106, 228). These terms may reflect a distinction between the carver of sculpture and masks and the maker of objects that are essentially found and bound together--wood, ivory, bone, occasionally copal or stone, and objects from the environment carrying associations within the Bwami metaphorical system.

The fact that members of the society were the principal clientele for any Lega artist set up a tension between the artist and the society. The artist did not have to be a member of Bwami but, like all Lega men, was under tremendous societal pressure to join at least the lowest level. The Bwami patron gave the artist a commission, describing the type of object desired, the material, and the size. Some descriptions were very general; for example, a client might request a wooden human figure the length of a hand from the fingertips to the base of the palm. Others, such as an order for a sculpture of Wayinda, the pregnant woman, were fairly precise (Biebuyck 1977:65). Calling Lega artistic production a "constrained diversity" (1973:179), Biebuyck argues that although the artists exercised considerable freedom, the needs of Bwami created an artistic canon (1977:63).

The apprentice artist learned to carve in the style of his master, who was also a member of his clan. Styles, therefore, were clan specific (Muyololo 1974:64; Biebuyck 1994:44). The artist nonetheless had the freedom to interpret the commission within his own personal style (influenced by clan style) as long as it still served its symbolic role and was visually comprehensible (Biebuyck 1969:10; de Kun 1966:93).

As most commissions were fairly general in terms of the type of object specified, the artist would not know its intended use or its future meaning (Biebuyck 1994:44). Nevertheless, the artwork was still intended for Bwami and considered a potent force. The surrounding secrecy and the potential lack of complete understanding on the part of the artist aided in the creation of a "cryptic unreadable artwork" (Biebuyck 1994:44). To protect the uninitiated community from accidentally seeing a restricted piece while it was being created, the artists worked in isolated workshops away from where people lived and moved, a situation that, according to one argument, helped enforce the distinct clan styles (Muyololo 1974:66). Bwami messengers were responsible for warning people to stay out of the workshop area. Although these precautions were taken, the object did not roach its full power until it had acquired the patina of use (Biebuyck 1973:230). A work set aside for use in Bwami is called isengo (pl. masengo, or "heavy"). The society divides, categorizes, and ranks objects, but all of them--no matter how simple or complex, whether a twig or a sculpture--contain the power that can help or harm, depending on how they are treated (Biebuyck 1973:158).

Masengo that had been used and thus gained power were judged by Bwami members to be intrinsically good. A simple equation exists: initiation object=busoga, "good and beautiful" (Biebuyck 1973:177). In this mindset, trying to critique a work made for initiation would be like debating whether a chair one is sitting on is really a chair.

Surviving Colonialism

Bwami was officially outlawed in 1933 and formally abolished in 1948. Between these dates, the society was alternately tolerated and persecuted. The Belgians understood that Bwami was an influential society that controlled the political workings of the Lega in many ways. Most of these administrators and missionaries, however, did not understand its intricate nature or its essentially nonreligious code of ethics. Through all the upheavals of colonialism, the society continued to exist--hidden and perhaps in altered forms--and to produce initiation objects.

If Bwami survived the colonial period, and if there was a growing need for masks and figures for new members and to replace those lost to the outside world, why did artists not proliferate? The answer may be twofold: first, being an artist among the Lega was not a particularly prestigious or profitable vocation; second, the Tarab (Tanzanian Arabs, some of whom settled among the Lega) or the Belgians knew that the sculptures were used in Bwami. They may have targeted the artists, who then chose to forgo Bwami commissions.

Members of the society began to embrace several compensating strategies. Artists created cruder artworks that would not attract attention and whose styles had been corrupted by outside influences. They adopted new art forms, such as figures carved by neighboring groups. Finally, Western-made objects (light bulbs, lead soldiers) and foreign materials (processed rubber, porcelain) began to appear in initiation performances. They might have been given the names of known initiation objects (de Kun 1966:78). New materials often took on double meanings. Biebuyck records a light bulb being used with the saying "He who seduces the wife of a great-one, eats an egg with rotten odor" (1976:345). Like many other sayings, on the surface this seems to warn against adultery with female Bwami members of an advanced grade. Biebuyck explains, however, that it addresses the disruption caused by Belgian courts that allowed a member of Kindi, the highest grade of Bwami, and his high-level wife to divorce (1976:345).

Neither Bwami nor the Lega clan system has weathered the nineteenth and twentieth centuries well, and the struggle to survive continues. With the independence of the Congo in 1960, Bwami was made legal again. During the political turmoil of the 1960s, members of the society, like the rest of the community, found themselves impoverished, and they used their status--and implied threats against an uninformed Lega public--to obtain food (Muyololo 1974:13). These actions reinforced Bwami's negative stereotypes. For the last ten years, the Lega area has been at the center of political upheaval and has suffered heavy death tolls. When people ask me about the present status of Bwami, 1 have no answers.

Francois Corbisier concluded his 1968 monograph about the Lega by saying that "perhaps, one day, we will see a resurrection of the Lega artistic sense" (1968:9; my translation). I choose to believe that it never died and that it is simply finding new forms of expression. For example, many Lega now live in Uganda and create works for the global market (Kasfir 1999:65). Although these artists may never again work in the "classic" style of figures and masks, my hope is that new Lega art will soon come to light and flourish.

The Installation at UCLA

With its dual focus on aesthetics and context, the Fowler Museum's installation of "Art of the Lega: Meaning and Metaphor in Central Africa" broke new ground in exhibiting African art. The first gallery provided an introduction to the Bwami society and the ways the Lega use artworks as visual metaphors to teach moral principles (Fig. 29). The visitor was also alerted to several of the aesthetic principles of this sculpture: the monumentality of the small works, the serial image, and the elegant abstraction of the pieces.

[FIGURE 29 OMITTED]

One then progressed through the exhibition in the same order as a Lega would be introduced to the Bwami society and its art forms. After a display of public arts, including regalia, spoons, and stools, the visitor moved into the world of Bwami, beginning with constructed works. Groupings illustrated how a teacher combines objects, sayings, drama, dance, and music that constitute moral and ethical lessons for the initiate-observer. A Bwami member, throughout his or her lifetime, would then see animal figures, then human figures, and finally masks (Fig. 30).

[FIGURE 30 OMITTED]

In the first few sections of the Fowler installation, bright lighting and a liberal use of didactic material and contextual photographs focused attention on how the Lega use their artworks. As the visitor moved through the sections, the general lighting grew dimmer and individual sculptures were illuminated by spotlights. Didactic labeling was reduced to allow the visitor to internalize the context and concentrate on the aesthetics of these unique sculptures.

The culmination of both the aesthetic presentation and the contextual display was reached in the final room (Fig. 31). In a completely darkened and silent setting, a collection of spectacular works sat on pedestals, lit by focused beams of light. Texts and photographs were absent. For the art lover this was the ideal environment for reflecting on the beauty of each sculpture. For Bwami the room would have brought to mind the last and highest initiation, when the teacher shows the candidate a display of works that must be contemplated in silence. No words. No songs. Only the power of each individual object instructs the initiate in the final truths.

[FIGURE 31 OMITTED]

(1.) Many thanks to Dr. Last for his willingness to share his collection with the world and to make it a promised gift to the UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History.

(2.) See Biebuyck 1973: pl. 25 for a photograph of zoomorphic figures grouped in use.

(3.) See Nunley & McCarty 1999:15: "In using this term we are referring to an object placed over the face or covering the entire head so that the face is more or less concealed." Or Kasfir 1988:5: "A mask ... [is] something which nonetheless both covers and transforms."

(4.) De Kun calls many Lega masks "hand-masks" or "pseudo-masks" (1966:84).

(5.) For discussions of how Western definitions of masks do not fit many African forms of masquerading, see Kubik 1993 and Cameron 1995.

(6.) Kilega is the language spoken by the Lega.

(7.) In most Bantu languages, wa means "of," that is, originating from something or somewhere. For example, a person is from or "of" a town, a child is "of" a family. In this context, the artist does not just use an adze, he is "of" the adze.

References cited

Altman, Ralph C. 1963. Balega and Other Tribal Arts from the Congo. Los Angeles: Dickson Art Center, University of California.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1954. "The Function of a Lega Mask," Archives internationales d'ethnographie 47:108-20.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1969. "Introduction," in Tradition and Creativity in Tribal Art, pp. 1-23. Los Angeles; Berkeley: University of California Press.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1973. Lega Culture: Art, Initiation, and Moral Philosophy among a Central African People. Berkeley; Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1976. "The Decline of Lega Sculptural Art," in Ethnic and Tourist Arts: Cultural Expressions from the Fourth World, ed. Nelson H. Graburn, pp. 334-49. Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1977. Symbolism of the Lega Stool. Philadelphia: ISHI Publications.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1981. "Plurifrontal Figurines in Lega Art in Zaire," in Shape of the Past: Studies in Honor of Franklin D. Murphy, eds. Giorgio Buccellati and Charles Speroni, pp. 115-27. Los Angeles: Institute of Archaeology and Office of the Chancellor, University of California.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1982. "Lega Dress as Cultural Artifact," African Arts 15, 3: 59-65, 92.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1983. "Lega Spoons," in Liber memorialis Prof. Dr. P. J. Vandenhoute, 1913-1978, pp. 51-66. Ghent, Belgium: Seminarie voor Etnische Kunst, Sint-Hubertusstraat.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1986. The Arts of Zaire: Volume II, Eastern Zaire. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1993. Face of the Spirits: Masks from the Zaire Basin. Antwerp: Snoeck-Ducaju & Zoon.

Biebuyck, Daniel P. 1994. La sculpture des Lega. Paris; New York: Galerie Helene & Philippe Leloup.

Cameron, Elisabeth. 1995. "Lega Hats: Hierarchy and Status," in Crowning Achievements: African Arts of Dressing the Head, eds. Mary Jo Arnoldi and Christine Mullen Kreamer, pp. 147-58. Los Angeles: Fowler Museum of Cultural History, University of California, Los Angeles.

Corbisier, Francois. 1968. "Sculpture du Moami: Lega et Bembe." Manuscript.

Cornet, Joseph. 1971. Art of Africa: Treasures from the Congo. Trans. Barbara Thompson. London: Phaidon.

Defour, Georges. n.d. La corde de la sagesse lega. Bukavu, Zaire: Editions Bandari.

de Kun, Nicholas. 1966. "L'art lega," Africa-Tervuren 12:69-99.

Delhaise, Le Commandant. 1909. Les Warega. Brussels: Albert de Wit.

Fagg, William. 1965. Tribes and Forms in African Art. New York: Tudor Publishing Co.

Kasfir, Sidney Littlefield. 1988. West African Masks and Cultural Systems. Tervuren: Musee Royal de l'Afrique Centrale.

Kasfir, Sidney Littlefield. 1999. Contemporary African Art. London: Thames & Hudson.

Kubik, Gerhard. 1993. Makisi, Nyau, Mapiko: Maskentraditionen in Bantu-sprachigen Afrika. Munich: Trickster Verlag.

Mulyumba, B. [Mulyumba wa Mamba, Itongwa]. 1968. "La croyance religieuse des Lega traditionnels," Etudes congolaises 11, no. 3:1-14; 11, no. 4:3-19.

Muyololo, Lutala Amuri. 1974. "Problematiques des arts lega." Ph.D. dissertation, Universite Nationale du Zaire.

Nunley, John and Cara McCarty. 1999. Masks: Faces of Culture. New York: Harry N. Abrams in association with the St. Louis Art Museum.

Olbrechts, Frans M. 1982. Congolese Sculpture. 2d ed. Trans. Daniel J. Crowley and Pearl Ramcharan-Crowley. New Haven, CT: Human Relations Area Files.

Segy, Ladislas. 1952. African Sculpture Speaks. New York: Lawrence Hill & Co.

Vansina, Jan. 1990. Paths in the Rainforests: Toward a History of Political Tradition in Equatorial Africa. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Yogolelo, Tambwe ya Kasimba. 1975. "Introduction a l'histoire des Lega: Problemes et methodes," Les Cahiers du CEDAF, ser. 2, no. 5:3-27.

ELISABETH L. CAMERON is an assistant professor of art history at the University of California at Santa Cruz and a consulting editor of African Arts.