During the mukanda (male initiation ritual) of the Yaka, dance masks carved from wood were used, as were masks made from braided fibres and cloth stretched over a frame. This second category, to which mweelu belonged, was symbolically and ritually the most important. In the ritual space where the circumcised boys stayed, mweelu performed to protect them and to make sure they adhered to dietary restrictions. Outside the initiation camp, it was worn by an experienced initiate, and it stole food for the boys from neighbouring villages.