The Luba people, also called the Baluba people, are an ethno-linguistic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Luba people have three primary sub-groups: the Luba-Shankaji (located primarily in the Katanga province), the Luba-Bambo (located primarily in the Kasai province), and the Luba-Hemba (located primarily in the Katanga province and Kivu region). The Luba people are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa and the largest ethnic group in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Kingdom of the Luba arose in the Upemba Depression (a large marshy area comprising some fifty lakes) in what is now the southern Democratic Republic of Congo. The Luba Kingdom of the Democratic Republic of Congo was a very powerful and influential presence from the sixteenth to the early twentieth centuries. Their art highlights the roles that objects played in granting the holders the authority of kingship and royal power. The Luba tribe is known for their unique contributions to Congolese society, such as their culturally significant handicraft: the Lukasa memory board.

In the Luba Kingdom, history was traditionally performed—not written or read. In fact, Luba royal history is not chronological and static as you learn it. Rather, it is a dynamic oral narrative which reinforces the foundations upon which Luba kingship is established and supports the current leadership. This history is also used to interpret and judge contemporary situations. Special objects known as lukasa (memory boards) are used by experts in the oral retelling of history in Luba culture. The recounting of the past is performative and includes dance and song. For the Luba people, kingship is sacred, and the elite Mbudye Society (whose members are considered “men of memory,” and who have extensive religious training) use the lukasa to recount history in the context of spiritual rituals. Diviners (who have the power to predict the future) can also read the lukasa. Each lukasa is different but small enough to hold in the left hand. The board is “read” by touching its surface with the right forefinger. The tactile qualities are apparent. The lukasa illustrated in the picture is one of the oldest known examples, with carved geometric designs on the back and sides, and complex clusters of beads of various sizes with their colors fading over time. The board is narrower at the center making it easy to hold. The master who has the skill and knowledge to read the lukasa will utilize it as he touches and feels the beads, shells, and pegs to recount history and solve current problems. The lukasa is typically arranged with large beads surrounded by smaller beads or a line of beads, the configuration of which dictates certain kinds of information. This information can be interpreted in a variety of ways and the expert might change his manner of delivery and his reading based upon his audience and assignment. The most important function of the lukasa was to serve as a memory aid that describes the myths surrounding the origins of the Luba empire, including recitation of the names of the royal Luba line.

The Luba had access to a wealth of natural resources, including gold, ivory, and copper, but they also produced and traded a variety of goods, such as pottery and wooden sculpture. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Central African interior witnessed the florescence of three large-scale, multiethnic states: Luba, Lunda and Kuba. Imported crops and technologies as well as new models of leadership promoted strong, centralized governments that subdued neighboring chiefdoms and regulated trade routes, increasing the wealth and relative stability of the region. Client states, incorporated into these empires via warfare and strategic alliances, acquired the political systems and courtly traditions of their overlords. Art forms and insignia associated with imperial rule spread throughout the region.

In his influential book, Kingdoms of the Savanna (1966), Jan Vansina described the rise of the kingdoms of the south-central African interior from the 15th century. The emergence of the Luba and Lunda empires in the seventeenth century had a profound impact upon political and artistic practices in the Central African savanna. The Luba empire’s expansion was due to its development of a form of government that was durable enough to withstand the disruptions of succession disputes and flexible enough to incorporate foreign leaders and governments. Based on twin principles of sacred kingship (balopwe) and rule by council, the Luba model of statecraft was adopted by the Lunda and spread throughout the region that is today northern Angola, northwestern Zambia, and southern Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Dynastic rulers of the Luba empire traced their ancestry to the mythic Kalala Ilunga, a hunter who was credited with toppling the cruel and despotic ruler Nkongolo and introducing signature elements of Luba culture. Because of their divine status, Luba kings became deities upon their deaths, and the villages from which they ruled were transformed into living shrines devoted to their legacies. The Luba heartland was studded with these landmarks. Official “men of memory,” members of the mbudye association, were responsible for maintaining the oral histories associated with these sites and interpreting historical precedent for the benefit of the community and current rulers.

The prestige attached to this vaunted lineage of sacred kings was enormous, and rulers of small, neighboring chiefdoms were often eager to associate themselves with Luba culture. In return for tribute in goods and labor, these less powerful rulers were integrated into the royal lineage and adopted the sacred Luba ancestors as their own. Luba courtly traditions, including artistic styles and sculptural forms, were also passed along to client states. Kalala Ilunga was credited with the introduction of advanced iron forging techniques to the Luba peoples. Consequently, skillfully wrought iron axes and spears were important symbols of rule in the Luba empire. Central to Luba arts of leadership were mwadi, female incarnations of the ancestral kings. Staffs, headrests, bow stands, and royal seats represented the divine status of the ruler and the elegant refinement of his court.

By area, the vast Central African state is the second-largest country on the continent and the 11th-largest in the world and the most populous francophone country in the world and is home to an abundance of vital natural resources. Despite its massive human capital and resource endowment, peace has eluded the Congo, and human security challenges have proliferated. For decades, the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been the scene of one of the world’s longest-running conflicts. Currently, eastern DRC is the site of ethnic conflict and violent resource competition involving ethnic militias, Congolese security forces, UN troops, and complex external interests.  In 2017, the UN reported an inter-ethnic fighting in the Kasais, including the Penda and Chokwe ethnic groups against the Luba and clashes between the Lunda and Luba, driving more people from their homes. The eastern region, with an abundance of countless minerals such as cobalt, uranium, copper, etc. has been the battleground for more than a hundred-armed groups fighting for control of the territory or using it as a base to launch attacks into some of its immediate neighbors – Angola, Burundi, Central African Republic, Rwanda, and Uganda. Consequently, that has led to the death and displacement of many Congolese citizens.

Cobalt, a silvery-blue metal – which derives its name from the German word “kobald” meaning goblin – is typically mined as a by-product of copper or nickel, use in electronic goods – particularly the rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and other forms of energy storage; means interest in it is growing as the electrification of the global energy system continues. As the demand for cobalt grows only one single nation accounts for more than half of the world’s cobalt reserves and that nation is the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is home to half of the world’s known resources, and currently accounts for around 70% of global production. Cobalt has emerged as a vital ingredient of the shift to a lower-carbon energy system, although many greedy nations specifically the global powerhouse economies have made the decision long term ago that they will get cobalt by hook or by crook and not giving any considerations to the lives of people in the territory which has catapulted to one of the deadliest conflicts we have seen since the diamond mining conflict in Sierra Leone. 

In the latter months of 2023, the Democratic Republic of Congo experienced another spike in violence — a clash involving militant groups over territory and natural resources, extrajudicial killings by security forces, political violence, and rising tensions with neighboring countries contributing to higher rate in civilian casualties and displacement. According to some reports of mounting civilian casualties, the UN declared that the number of internally displaced people had reached a record high of 6.9 million as fighting renders a growing part of the country unsafe for civilians. 

Conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC; the Congo) has been ongoing since the 1990s. The country has faced political repression and instability since it achieved independence in 1960. Since 1996, conflict in eastern DRC has led to approximately six million deaths. The First Congo War (1996—1997), began in the wake of the 1994 Rwandan Genocide, during which ethnic Hutu extremists killed an estimated one million minority ethnic Tutsis and non-extremist Hutus in Rwanda (DRC’s neighbor to the east). During and following the genocide, nearly two million Hutu refugees crossed the Congolese border, mostly settling in refugee camps in the North Kivu and South Kivu provinces. A small subset of those Rwandans who entered DRC were Hutu extremists who feared retribution or prosecution at home and began organizing militias within the Congo. Pressure intensified as Tutsi militias organized against the Hutu groups and as foreign powers began taking sides.

Weak governance and the presence of various armed groups have subjected Congolese civilians to widespread rape and sexual violence, massive human rights violations, and extreme poverty. The African Union (AU), United Nations (UN), and neighboring countries have struggled to address threats posed by rebel groups, promote development, and improve humanitarian conditions. Violence in the DRC according to experts may eventually spill over into Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda—countries with longstanding ties to the United States. The abundance of natural resources—especially precious minerals—found in Congolese soil has globalized the conflict in eastern DRC. While U.S. companies once owned vast cobalt mines in the Congo, most were sold to Chinese companies during the Barack Obama and Donald Trump administrations. Chinese companies connected to Beijing now control the majority of foreign-owned cobalt, uranium, and copper mines in DRC and the Congolese army has been repeatedly deployed to mining sites in eastern DRC to protect Chinese assets. The Joe Biden administration has acknowledged that China’s virtual monopoly in DRC’s mining industry plays a significant role in boosting China’s comparative advantage in the energy and technology arenas, and is a hindrance to U.S. clean energy aspirations.

China is involved in Congo’s internal conflict as well as its economy: the Congolese government is fighting M23 rebels with the help of Chinese drones and weaponry, and Uganda has purchased Chinese arms to carry out military operations within DRC’s borders. The deals China negotiated with Congolese leadership, especially during the Joseph Kabila regime, have helped Chinese firms secure unprecedented access to metals that allow them to mass produce electronics and clean energy technologies. The Beijing-Kinshasa relationship came under international scrutiny leading up to President Kabila’s resignation in 2019 when evidence emerged that Chinese capital—intended for infrastructure investment as repayment for mining rights—was being funneled to Joseph Kabila and his associates. China and DRC’s complex, multi-layered economic and military relationship has resulted in limited access to the Congo’s vital resources and profits for other countries and the Congolese people themselves. Additionally, a U.S. congressional human rights commission heard testimony in July 2022 regarding the use of child labor and other illegal practices in Congolese mines, allegedly including those owned and operated by Chinese companies.

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