Over the centuries, the people of the region learned to use nets, harpoons, make dugout canoes, and clear canals through swamps.

Traders exported salt and iron items, and imported glass beads and cowry shells from the distant Indian Ocean.

As lineages grew in size, authority was opportunistically absorbed or incorporated by force, leading to the formation of states.

His nephew and immediate successor, Kalala Ilunga, expanded the empire over the upper left bank territories of the Lualaba River.

[citation needed] Luba-Katanga oral traditions start with a man named Kyubaka Ubaka (lit.

In its place grew an anthill, which was taken as a sign Nkongolo wished to stay there, making it the first sacred village (kitenta).

He killed most of his children, leaving succession to two boys, Kazade Milele and one covered in animal hair, Ilunga Mwila.

Mwine Munza wanted Ilunga Mwila killed, however the titleholder hid him at Bisonge, near the southern border with the Songye people.

[6]: 31–39 According to the historian Thomas Reefe, the accuracy of the story and the existence of certain figures, like Kolongo, Kalala, and Ilunga, is questionable.

Reefe believes that the accounts of Luba's foundation are mythical tales, however Congolese historians maintain they're based on historical events.

The Luba model of governing was so successful that it was adopted by the Lunda Kingdom and spread throughout the region that is today northern Angola, northwestern Zambia, and southern Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Mbudye tradition states that all of the rulers of the Luba Empire traced their ancestry to Kalala Ilunga, a mystical hunter credited with toppling Kongolo Mwamba.

Luba kings became deities upon their deaths, and the villages from which they ruled were transformed into living shrines devoted to their legacies.

Staffs, headrests, bow stands and royal seats featuring this subject represented the divine status of the ruler and the elegant refinement of his court.

Luba traders linked the Congolese forest to the north with the mineral-rich region in the center of modern Zambia known as the Copperbelt.

The trade routes passing through Luba territory were also connected with wider networks extending to both the Atlantic and Indian Ocean coasts.

With the formation of the Luba kingdom, the economy was complex and based on a tribute system that redistributed agricultural, hunting and mining resources among nobles.

The ruling class held a virtual monopoly on trade items such as salt, copper, and iron ore.

The important role of woman in the creation myths and political society resulted in the decoration of many prestigious objects with female figures.

Luba staffs, usually owned by kings, village chiefs or court dignitaries, were also carved with dual or paired female figures.

Single figures on art pieces, specifically staffs, represented dead kings whose spirits are carried in a woman's body.

It dramatizes public events that call for strong emotions, such as courage in battle, collective joy at official functions, and bereavement at funerals.

In style and content, the kasala by itself is a diverse genre of proverbs, myths, fables, riddles, tales and historical narratives.

This expansion was done through tributaries, where Luba armies frequently targeted population-dense regions (usually under smaller states with less military resistance) to extract tribute from them to the emperor.

In the 18th century, the Luba invaded groups of the Songye people,, but did not conquer them, and consolidated their power north of the Upemba Depression.