The Luba are a matrilineal culture who highly honor their female ancestors. Men may lead among the Luba, but they do so only through the sacred wisdom of women. Female kinship ties are also extremely important to social status.

Luba wooden figures of adult women serve as shrine figures that depict important ancestors, and they also serve as illustrations for instructing young women about the initiation rituals that they will undergo to become adult members of Luba  society. These female figures typically display the elaborate coiffures, elongated labia, and scarification that identify young women as initiated, marriageable adults in Luba society.

Interestingly, this figure illustrates an adult coiffure and the labia of an initiated woman, but it does not exhibit scarification. This lack of scarification may reflect how such visible body markings have become less common among the Luba since young men and women began leaving home to attend college or work in cities in the 20th century, as those who display traditional scarification have often experienced marginalization and discrimination

 

 

For more information, you may contact the researcher(s) noted in the title of this exhibit entry, or Dr. Billie Follensbee, the professor of the course, at BillieFollensbee@MissouriState.edu