Lega Bwami Art: Objects You Have to Earn the Right to Own
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Most art traditions documented in this book are made for a community, a chief, or a spirit, and once made, they tend to stay put. Lega art belongs to no one until that person has earned it: every anthropomorphic figurine, mask, hat, and ivory object is commissioned, owned, used, and interpreted exclusively by the highest-ranking members of the bwami association, the society that governs Lega social, religious, and political life. Rank isn’t inherited or purchased, it’s climbed, through circumcision, instruction in proverbs, and a series of initiations, gifts, and payments. That restriction, art whose ownership is a moral achievement rather than a possession anyone might simply acquire, is the throughline worth carrying through this piece. It explains why there is no large Lega art: the objects are moved constantly between containers and grouped for ceremonial display, sized and structured around a system of advancement rather than around permanence.
Who Are the Lega?
The 100,000 to 250,000 Lega inhabit the virgin forest of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, between the great lakes and the Lualaba River, next to the Luba people. The Lega possess no centralized political organization; instead, both men and women aspire to moral authority by gaining high rank within the bwami association. They live in autonomous villages collectively situated at the summit of a hill surrounded by a palisade, practicing a mixed economy of agriculture, hunting, and fishing, with men hunting and clearing new land while women cultivate manioc and other crops.
Bwami: A Society Ranked by Moral Advancement
The bwami association regulates the social, religious, and political life of the Lega, conveying ethical principles and establishing social norms for the entire community. Circumcision was an indispensable step allowing entrance into bwami, accompanied by instruction in proverbs and in the handling of objects endowed with moral and practical significance. The association was divided into several levels, and advancing to the next required a series of initiations, gifts, and payments, meaning that reaching a given rank signaled that a person had attained genuine wisdom and a personal moral sense. The great ceremonies held for accession to the highest level required entire villages to be constructed to house the candidate’s clan and members of other clans, some of whom traveled great distances to participate.
Art That Belongs to the Highest Ranks Alone
All Lega art operates within the context of the bwami society. Originally the art was primarily wooden, but ivory came into use over time, allowing more complex and refined forms and a beautiful patina as many later works were carved from this material. The highest-ranking members of bwami commission, own, use, and interpret all Lega sculpture, and the genius of a Lega artist lies in producing a work that satisfies the bwami patron’s requirements, fits perfectly within the canon, and still remains artistically unique. Various categories of object serve the association’s activities, including anthropomorphic and zoomorphic figurines, masks, and hats. Each anthropomorphic figurine symbolically represents a named personage carrying particular moral qualities or defects, expressed through dance and sung aphorisms during initiations into the highest grades. Though often coarse or primitive in style and execution, Lega sculpture conveys a strong sense of balance, form, and serenity, and the Lega judge the quality of a work on the basis of its effectiveness rather than its polish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is allowed to own Lega art?
Only the highest-ranking members of the bwami association may commission, own, use, and interpret Lega sculpture.
What is bwami?
Bwami is the association that regulates Lega social, religious, and political life, organized into ranked levels reached through circumcision, proverb instruction, and a series of initiations, gifts, and payments.
Why is there no large Lega art?
Lega objects are frequently moved between containers and grouped in large numbers for ceremonial displays, which keeps the individual pieces modest in scale.
How do the Lega judge the quality of a sculpture?
They judge it on the basis of its effectiveness within the bwami context, rather than on decorative refinement alone.
See also: African Masks by Region and Tribe · Binji Masks: The Border Style Behind the Kuba Bwoom? · Every Traditional African Mask You Should Know
