Metoko Kukungu Female Figure, Congo #173

Metoko Kukungu Female Figure, Congo #173 Very beautiful stylization of the face and the silhouette which aesthetically gives the statue an almost "robot" style. The Metoko People are the descendants of Lega migrants settled in the area of the middle Lwalaba, in the heart of the Equatorial Forest. Like the Lega People, their Political and Social Life is organized around a Secret Initiatory Association, the Bukota. The Bukota Society welcomes both men and women, and is compared to the Bwami Society of the Lega People. They are also culturally very close to their neighbors the Lengola People. Kakungu Figures, which belong to Bukota Initiates occupying the highest positions of the Village Governing Society, are used during the Initiation Rites and Funerary Rites; the beginnings of Community Life, as well as the End. They indicate Rank and Status among Bukota Society Members, and usually represent a Male or Female Ancestor. The term Kakungu symbolizes an old person, full of dignity and