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29 · CURIOSITY · KNOWLEDGE

Memory in performance

Who can interpret a lukasa

Mbudye specialists use the board to narrate history and territory; its marks have no universal translation.

Museum documentation · free public access, no account required.

EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence

Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

A lukasa board that remains dark until an authorised narrative is selected
EDITORIAL VISUALISATION DECLARED · AI-GENERATED IMAGE · TRACEKEEPERS

Editorial visualisation · Contextual correspondence

Declared editorial visualisation, based on the cartography and sources of the fact sheet; it is not an exact historical frontier.

History and context

Beads, shape, touch and the path followed guide Mbudye specialists as they narrate history and territory.

The interface remains silent until a credited narrator is selected, and never translates a bead as a universal sign.

Evidence and interpretation

A documented object and performative principle; specific content may be restricted.

Catalogue facts

Narrative date
19th–20th centuries and transmitted practice
Location
Luba communities, present-day DRC
Material
Wood, beads, touch, voice and performance
Context
The authority to remember and the right to withhold knowledge
Curatorial reading
The documented fact and its interpretation appear separately in the evidence block.
Dossier axis
beliefs
Research record
BANTU · bantu-belief-lukasa-performance
Documentary coverage
1 museum source, heritage, primary corpus or research for this stop.

A SHARED TOPIC, DIFFERENT MOMENTS

Objects connected through time

Follow a topic across the collections. A shared tag is a way to compare objects, not proof that one culture influenced another.

The order uses the midpoint of each approximate date range; ranges can overlap. Spacing does not represent elapsed time. Swipe, scroll or use the arrows. With the sequence focused, use ← / →, Home or End.

THE CURRENT OBJECT

Its date is not sufficiently established to place it on the timeline. We keep it here, separate from the dated objects.

Wood13 dated objects

1 / 13In the centre: Shigir Idol

Also connected, without a comparable date (3)

These objects are not placed after the others: an unknown date does not mean a more recent object.

A closer look

About 1 min to read · 1 section. Further reading and sources · free access. Editorial review recorded: .

Memory and authority

The Met describes the mbudye as an association of men and women responsible for interpreting Luba political and historical principles. Their authority could reinforce or counterbalance that of kings and chiefs. Mastering memory was not simply about recalling names: it contributed to evaluating the exercise of power. Levels of training regulated who interpreted the boards. It therefore matters who was authorised to speak and to whom, as well as the content each support helped to remember.

Where it is held

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Item or group in the record · Documented collection

The holding institution is documented; public display may change. Check its official record before visiting.

Sources and references

Expand this information and consult its sources

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