Bwami society headdress

In Lega society, men and women advanced through the ranks of an initiation association known as Bwami, mastering greater levels of esoteric knowledge and ethics at each grade. Hats like this one served as visible markers of a person’s rank in the Bwami hierarchy, with wearers entitled to progressively more elaborate and materially potent headgear as they advanced.　

Only initiates of the highest grade, lutumbo lwa kindi, were entitled to wear such a richly adorned hat as this example. The moral authority of the owner was underscored through the arched plume of elephant hair crowning the hat. The elephant is the largest and most powerful animal known to the Lega, and in Bwami teaching it represents both the society as a whole and the pinnacle of achievement within it. According to one proverb, "Bwami [is like] the stampeding of elephants; the place it has passed cannot be forgotten." The expression alludes to the deep and enduring impact of Bwami teaching. By crowning his head with an elephant tail tuft, the wearer visually aligns himself with the elephant’s might, endurance, and leadership. The crest conveys that this person has immense spiritual strength and has trampled ignorance underfoot, leaving an unforgettable legacy in the community.

In addition to featuring elephant hair, the hat’s surface is completely covered in a checkerboard of glass beads, a design that speaks to the ingenuity of 20th-century Lega artists. They incorporated such prestigious imports to enhance traditional forms with a vibrant array of colors. Those artists drew upon a range of locally available and imported goods to elaborate their creations, including animal skins and claws, seedpods, cowrie shells, and buttons. While there are no socio-political distinctions made between the types of materials added to headdresses, the absence or limited presence of such refinements indicates a lower ranking individual. The prominence of such additions in this example, entirely sheathed in such delicate refinements, further underscored his status as an initiate into lutumbo lwa kindi.