President Mobutu at a parade of the "Corps des Volontaires de la République," Kinshasa, Congo (Democratic Republic)

"In Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), President Mobutu regularly appeared in public wearing a leopard-skin cap as part of his presidential regalia. While the form of the hat derives from a military cap, his choice of leopard skin was certainly calculated to exploit the symbolic association of the leopard with chiefly legitimacy and power that has a long history in many societies in this region." [Arnoldi M.J., 1995: Introduction: The Head and Hair; Crowning Achievements. UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History]. 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, visiting Congo (now Democratic Republic of Congo).