A group of yananio initiates taking part in a dance performance (kamondo) which preceded the initiation ceremonies of a male candidate to yananio grade, near Kalima, Congo (Democratic Republic)

Object Details

Topic: Headdresses -- headgear -- Africa; Body arts; Rites and ceremonies -- Africa; Dance

See more items in: Eliot Elisofon Field collection; Eliot Elisofon Field collection / Congo (Democratic Republic) / EECL / Kalima, Congo (Democratic Republic)

Archival Repository: Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art

Collection Citation: Eliot Elisofon Field Collection, EEPA 1973-001, Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Collection Rights: Permission to reproduce images from the Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives must be obtained in advance. Where noted, some images remain under the copyright of Life/Shutterstock. The collection is subject to all copyright laws.

Scope and Contents: The photograph depicts a group of initiates of lutumbo lwa yananio and musagi wa yananio. 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, an apron of genet hide, but here most of them are wearing loincloths with a rope belt (Biebuyck 1973, 273). 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.

Collection Restrictions: Use of original records requires an appointment. Contact Archives staff for more details.