Bwami society headdress

The covering of one’s head was an integral aspect of membership into Bwami, a many-graded initiation association into which almost all Lega men and women elected to become initiated. While certain headdresses were required for members as they reached the upper levels of Bwami, individuals might also commission additional headgear as expressions of personal taste and advanced accomplishment. Such personal headdresses frequently incorporated prominent animal elements, including elephant ears or, as in this example, crocodile skin.


Those materials served as visual metaphors for Lega teachings, as well as wearable proclamations of a member’s erudition. Associations with animals may be diverse, but several Lega proverbs reference the crocodile in relation to uncontrolled power. One example likens reckless speech to quarreling with a crocodile’s gaping jaws, suggesting that such dangers must be curtailed. By wearing the reptile’s hide, an elder shows that he embodies this lesson: the peril symbolized by the crocodile has been subdued and redirected toward communal well-being.


Prestige hats do more than signal rank. At public gatherings, they act as visual prompts for the proverbs elders recite, turning abstract moral lessons into concrete reminders. The sight of such a hat calls up stories about restraint, generosity, and leadership, allowing listeners of all ages to grasp Bwami ideals even without access to secret teachings. When a high-ranking initiate dies, his hats may be buried with him or interred in his stead, and they may later be retrieved so that his authority can pass to a descendant who rises in Bwami, linking generations through a shared legacy of disciplined power.