Memory Board, "Lukasa"
date: label: Accession Date
content: 24 Oct 1921
name: label: Collector
content: Mr. Herbert Ward
label: Donor Name
content: Mrs. Sarita S. Ward
notes: label: Notes
content: FROM CARD: "MADE IN THE FORM OF A HIGHLY EMBELLISHED RECTANGULAR TROUGH RESTING ON FIVE HUMAN HEADS IN FULL RELIEF. IN THE BOTTOM OF THE "TROUGH" IS SPRAWLED AN ALLIGATOR-LIKE ANIMAL. FROM ONE END OF THE TROUGH PROJECTS A LARGE HUMAN HEAD. IDENTIFIED BY A. MAESEN AS A LUKASA, TESTBOARD OF ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE USED DURING THE FINAL STAGE OF INITIATION INTO LUBA SECRET SOCIETIES, SUCH AS THE BUMBUDYE. MAESEN SAYS HIS INFORMANTS WERE UNABLE (OR UNWILLING) TO EXPLAIN THE SYMBOLISM INVOLVED. (LETTER TO G.D.G. DATED 1/4/65). LENT TO RENWICK, 8/6/81. RETURNED 1983. LENT TO COOPER-HEWITT MUSEUM, 8/27/92. RETURNED APRIL 1, 1993." EXHIBIT LABEL FROM "THE POWER OF MAPS" EXHIBIT AT THE COOPER-HEWITT: "THIS MAP IN THE FORM OF A MEMORY BOARD REFERS TO PRESTIGIOUS MEMBERS OF THE BAMBUDYE, A SECRET ASSOCIATION, AND THEIR ROYAL LOCALES. GEOMETRIC PATTERNS ON THE SURFACE OFTEN REPRESENT LAKES, WHICH ARE METAPHORS FOR ROYAL COURTS AND FOR THE POWERS AND PROHIBITIONS OF KINGSHIP. ALL LUKASA CONVEY A COMMON BODY OF SECRET KNOWLEDGE, BUT THEIR FORMS VARY FROM ONE LUBA REGION TO THE NEXT. THE VARIATIONS IN THEIR FORM AND DESIGN MAY HAVE PROTECTED THE INFORMATION...(SEE ACCESSION FILE FOR CONTINUATION OF REMARKS)"
label: Notes
content: On display in National Museum of Natural History exhibit "Objects of Wonder", 2017 - 2024. Exhibit label: Memory board (Lukasa), Luba, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 19th century; Wood. In Luba culture, carved memory boards called lukasa encode royal histories, king lists, and important events. The arrangement of shapes helps royal court historians recite these aspects of Luba culture, but the narration varies with the knowledge and oratory skill of the historian. The carved heads represent ancestral kings, and the circular geometric patterns represent the spirit capitals of a particular king.
label: Notes
content: Lukasa or memory board. Identified by A. Maesen as a lukasa, a testboard of esoteric knowledge used during the final stage of initiation into Luba secret societies, such as the Bambudye. According to Maesen, his informants were unable or unwilling to explain the symbolism involved in the carvings. However, this item has also been identified as a map in the form of a memory board that refers to prestigious members of the Bambudye, a secret association, and their royal locales. Geometric patterns on the surface often represent lakes, which are metaphors for royal courts and for the powers and prohibitions of kingship. All lukasa convey a common body of secret knowledge, but their forms vary from one Luba region to the next. The variations in their form and design may have protected the information.
label: Record Last Modified
content: 15 Jan 2025
label: Specimen Count
content: 1
place: label: Place
content: Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa
topic: label: Topic
content: Ethnology
culture: label: Culture
content: Luba
setName: label: See more items in
content: Anthropology
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: 067312
label: USNM Number
content: E323440-0
objectType: label: Object Type
content: Memory Board
physicalDescription: label: Length - Object
content: 41 cm
label: Width - Object
content: 20.5 cm