Bwami Hat for Kindi Level
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This hat would only have been worn by initiates to Kindi, the highest level of Bwami. Tail hair of an elephant, a metaphor for Kindi, crowns the hat. European-made buttons began to replace cowrie shells as prestige items on such Bwami paraphernalia as the Western presence grew in eastern Congo in the early twentieth century.
Caption
Lega. Bwami Hat for Kindi Level, early 20th century. Plant fiber, buttons, glass beads, elephant tail hair , 15 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (39.4 x 16.5 cm). Brooklyn Museum, Designated Purchase Fund, 2011.3.1. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 2011.3.1_PS6.jpg)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Culture
Title
Bwami Hat for Kindi Level
Date
early 20th century
Geography
Possible place made: Maniema Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Possible place made: South Kivu Province, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Medium
Plant fiber, buttons, glass beads, elephant tail hair
Classification
Dimensions
15 1/2 x 6 1/2 in. (39.4 x 16.5 cm)
Credit Line
Designated Purchase Fund
Accession Number
2011.3.1
Rights
Creative Commons-BY
You may download and use Brooklyn Museum images of this three-dimensional work in accordance with a Creative Commons license. Fair use, as understood under the United States Copyright Act, may also apply. Please include caption information from this page and credit the Brooklyn Museum. If you need a high resolution file, please fill out our online application form (charges apply). For further information about copyright, we recommend resources at the United States Library of Congress, Cornell University, Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums, and Copyright Watch. For more information about the Museum's rights project, including how rights types are assigned, please see our blog posts on copyright. If you have any information regarding this work and rights to it, please contact copyright@brooklynmuseum.org.
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