Hemba people

[6] The lower Lukuga and the Lualaba provided natural lines of communication, and the river valleys were densely populated.

[8] The Hemba fire kingdom cut its links to the Luba empire after Ilunga Sungu died.

[10] Later the Hemba regained their independence, but were subject to attacks by Arab slave traders in the later part of the nineteenth century, and then to colonization by the Belgians.

[11] Hemba people may also belong to secret societies such as the Bukazanzi for men and Bukibilo for women as well as the Baubwilo-dancers, singers and healers, the Bamukota-skilled in praise poetry, Bagabo-the oldest of the Hemba secret socities who focus on divination, Baso'o-focusing on fertility and the only society to use spirit invested wooden masks.

[3] The So'o secret society is guarded by the beautifully carved mask of a chimpanzee-human, which is used in Hemba funeral rituals.

The So'o will not follow a young Hemba into farmland but, if whoever is being chased runs indoors and is caught by the So'o, the Masquerader takes off their mask and the witness must become part of the So'o society.

[12] During Hemba funeral festivals (known as malilo) men and women perform rituals and solve societal issues in different ways with different secret societies.

When social harmony has been upset, religious leaders may demand offerings to the specific ancestors that have become displeased and are causing the trouble.

[12] Christian influences are strong in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, missionaries converted many indigenous individuals to Catholicism and Protestant movements.

These masks were constructed to look like chimpanzee human faces with a large mouth that is seen as unnatural by the Hemba people.

[13] They are based on the normal proportions of a human head with the mouth of a chimpanzee, usually depicted with white and black hair streaks that resemble the colobus monkey