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TRIBAL AFRICAN ART
LULA
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The 15,000 Lula settled along the
banks of the Nseki River. Today they live in autonomous villages and their economic
survival depends on hunting and fishing. Stylistically, their statues show Teke-like
facial scarifications, while the carved coiffure and the general morphology of the figures
are influenced by the Yaka. The Lula carved small apotropaic figures (25 cm high) and
prestige objects such as flywhisks and headrests. In the 1980s, Lula masks first appeared
in the West. They are covered with blue and white pigments and have oblong shape and
typical rounded eyes. They are thought to have been worn by the guardian of the initiation
camp. (adapted from J.-B. Bacquart, The Tribal Arts of Africa, Thames and Hudson,
N. Y., 1998)
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