Hat "mpu a nzim" ·  D. R. Congo, Mbala · ID: 3035621

Description

fiber netting, with raffia rim, adorned with clusters and rows of “nzimbu” shells (“Olivancillaria”), some shells missing (zigzag-pattern);
this type of hat was worn by chiefs and high dignitaries. They may not expose themself to the sun. The hat seems to be an imitation of the crested “mikor” coiffure adorned with small shells. The “nzimbu” shells were traded in a large area of southwestern Zaire and used as exchange media and as ornaments on status emblems.

Comparing literature

Biebuyck, Daniel P. & Nelly van den Abbeele, The Power of Headdresses, Brussels 1984, p. 74, ill. 24