177. Lukasa (memory board). Mbudye Society, Luba peoples (Democratic Republic of the Congo). c. 19th to 20th century C.E. Wood, beads, and metal.

• Form
  • Carved from wood in an hourglass shape and adorned with beads, shells, or metal.
  • Back, expressed by Luba people as the “outside,” resembles the shell of a turtle
• Function
  • Court historian who serves as reader of the memory board holds the lukasa in his left hand with his right index finger
  • Ability to read the board is limited to a few people
  • Memory board helps the user remember key elements in a story; for example
    • Court ceremonies
    • Migrations
    • Heroes
    • Kinship
    • Genealogy
    • List of kings
• Context
  • Each board's design is unique and represents the divine revelations of a spirit medium expressed in sculptural form
  • Memory boards are controlled by the Mbudye, a council of men and women who interpret the political and historical aspects of Luba society.
  • Zoomorphic elements represented by the turtle, an animal that lives on both land and water; the dual nature of the turtle is a metaphor for the Luba peopleś political organization as founded by two distinctly opposed embodiments of power: Kongolo Mwamba, avatar of all excess and tyranny, and Mbidi Kiluwe, sophisticated cultural hero introduced royal culture to the Luba people