The Tabwa people

[Ɔkyeame Kwame]

The Tabwa people

The Tabwa people lived under Luba domination in small autonomous villages scattered within a territory that expanded from the southeast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the northeast of Zambia, along Lake Tanganyika. The verb "tabwa" means "to be tied up" and refers to when these people were taken as slaves. During the 19th century, the ivory trade brought wealth to the region and Tabwa people gained their independence.

Today, they number 200,000 and are led by chiefs-sorcerers who rule over village chiefs and family chiefs. Their power is counterbalanced by male societies created on Luba prototypes and by female associations influenced by East African models. Traditionally, Tabwa people made their living from hunting and blacksmithing; nowadays they cultivate millet, manioc, cassava, beans, and corn, but they live primarily off fishing and hunting, for game is plentiful.

The influence of Eastern Tanzanian neighbors on Tabwa art is seen in their use of linear geometric decorations, while their western neighbors, the Luba, influenced the incorporation of prestige objects into Tabwa life. The Tabwa worshipped ancestors, whose statues were the property of the lineage chiefs and sorcerers; these carried “medications” in their ears or in small cavities at the top of their heads.

The Tabwa also worshipped the spirits of nature, who lived in trees and rocks. The installation of a supreme chief is of relatively recent vintage; formerly it was the function of the large ancestor figures to consolidate the power of the chiefs. Other statuettes were used for divination. The Tabwa also made twin figures that could be both dangerous and bearers of good luck. In the north of Tabwa country, the diviner was also a sculptor; consulted after a dream, he would create a new statue.

Special attention was paid to scarifications, which embellish the body and recall social values. On the whole surface of the body, a recurrent motif consists of twinned isosceles triangles, the two bases of which symbolize the duality of life. They evoke the coming of the new moon, essential to Tabwa philosophy, whose return would be celebrated monthly.


The Tabwa used two types of masks: a human one, which represented woman, and another in the form of a buffalo head, which represented man. Both would make an appearance at the time of the fecundity ritual, celebrated for sterile women. One also finds paddles, combs, and musical instruments with figurines.

In the past individual Tabwa villages often acted autonomously. The villages are headed by chiefs who inherit their positions matrilinearly, and who justify their power by tracing their descent back to the original founders of Tabwa society. This is often done through the collection and display of ancestor figures which represent the chief's familial lines. Within Tabwa communities, the chiefs symbolically represent the continuity of the universe, and at the same time illustrate the position of man within the universe. Leaders often wield staffs or batons which identify them as chiefs.

The Tabwa have developed a system of religion honoring the ancestors. Similarly to the Luba, the Tabwa have utilized this system in a way which benefits the traditional leaders, who use the remembered power of their ancestors to explain their current power. Ancestors are embodied in figural sculptures known as mikisi, which are carved by religious specialists, anointed with clay, and given offerings of food during the new moon, a time which is of great importance to the Tabwa. The new moon is represented by the triangle in Tabwa iconography and symbolizes rebirth and the continuity of life.

Female ancestor figure (mipasi)

The Tabwa carved wooden figures to represent ancestors, great shamanistic healers and earth spirits. Called mipasi or mikisi, such figures were kept by lineage elders in special buildings within their components, where the elders sometimes slept to receive ancestral inspiration in their dreams. The figures had powers to heal and protect. The mipasi might be placed near a sick person, or at the entrance to the village as a silent sentinel: they might be deployed in litigation, to ensure that a defendant told the truth, or placed near blacksmiths’ forges or on hunting shrines, to keep evil forces from disrupting the processes of work.


Male ancestor figure (mipasi)