A faceted morphology for this polychrome statue of Yela featuring a figure with a curved bust carried by thick semi-flexed legs. In the extension of the shoulders, the curvature of the extended arms follows that of the trunk. The tips of the feet and hands are digitized with hatches. The diamond-cut head offers sketchy strokes. Patina matte abrased. Desication cracks. The province of Lualaba had several close ethnic groups with similar associations. The Mbole and Yela are known for their statues, according to D. Biebuck, of the hanged, named ofika . The lilwa , an association with dogmatic initiation rites, had the custom of judging and sentencing those guilty of violations of the imposed rules to hang. These offences ranged from murder to adultery to breaking the secrecy surrounding the lilwa . Disgraced, the bodies of condemned men had no funerals and were buried in the forest. It was during the end-of-the-introduction ceremonies, presided over by a notable isoya , that these statues were displayed, presented lying on a litter box. In addition to these figures, the Yela sculpt effigies of ancestors.
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