Yananio initiates and women of kanyamwa rank taking part in a dance performance (kamondo) which preceded the initiation ceremonies of a male candidate to yananio grade, near Kalima, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The photograph depicts a group of initiates of lutumbo lwa yananio and musagi wa yananio accompanied with women of kanyamwa rank, in the typical dress of their grade. The yananio initiates wear hats made of black goatskin or black goat manes. Not all the initiates wear leopard teeth, but all possess them and have the right to wear them. The loincloth is made of reddened bark. The lutumbo may wear belts of bongo hide, but here most of them are wearing loincloths with a rope belt (Biebuyck 1973, 273). "Women do not have a symbol that identifies them as Bwami members in the same way that the skullcap identifies a male member. Only when a woman reaches the highest Bwami level (Bunyamwa) does she receive a headdress called lukunia. This consists of a wide band encircling the head, which is made of fiber and covered with beads, cowries, buttons, and occasionally other materials." [Cameron E., 2001: Art of the Lega. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles]. "All women wear bunches of chicken feathers, which are dancing paraphernalia, around their buttocks and hips. [Biebuyck D., 1973: Lega Culture. University of California Press]. During his trip to Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo), Elisofon visited the Lega people at Pangi and its surroundings in the Maniema district. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for American Broadcasting Company and traveled to Africa from early December 1966 to early February 1967.