Lega Bwami Iginga Figure, Congo #49

Lega Bwami Society Iginga Figure, Congo #49 These statuettes are generically called Iginga, and were used in the cult of the Bwami, an association that organized the social structure and ensured the stability of the Lega community. Lega wooden figures are rare and served as part of the contents of a basket used during initiation ceremonies. As Biebuyck (2002: 119)describes, '...the essential presentation takes place during the kunanuna masengo rite in lutumbo lwa kindi. The figurines are removedfrom the baskets together with numerous other manufactured and natural objects, and they are displayed. One by one, sometimesseveral in a single sequence, the sculptures are picked up by the presentors and danced wiith. For a long time these important figurineswere barely represented in world collections. They were jealously kept by the initiates as expressions of their in-group spirit, as majorlinks with the deceased predecessors and as a profound expression of ultimate values and historical i