Bwami member of the kindi grade, wearing a mukuba hat. Near Kalima, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The photograph depicts a lutumbo lwa kindi (the highest grade in bwami association), wearing a mukuba hat, to emphasize its own high status. This hat is made of canvas, covered with shells, cowries, and more recently buttons, and surmounted by an elephant tail (Biebuyck 1973, plate 10). The attached elephant tail refers to the association between Bwami, especially the highest grade of lutumbo lwa kindi, and the quiet, yet destructive, strength of the elephant. Kindi members wear this hat daily (Cameron 2001, 74). 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.