This type of chair known as elembo was used in the 19th and early 20th century by peoples who lived on the banks of the Giri River: the Lobo, the Libinja, and the Ngombe. The non-decorated specimens with short legs belonged to ordinary men. They could be used as a seat in pirogues.

There were also, however, sumptuously decorated chairs with longer legs. The decorations were applied using European ornamental upholstery studs, which, in the first half of the 19th century, were rare and expensive in this area. Such chairs belonged to the estate of chiefs and dignitaries.