Ikhoko (singular gikhoko) are miniature ivory replicas of masks. Boys usually received one after their initiation during the mukanda circumcision rite.

Givule is the spiritual principle that animates every living being. In the matrilineal system (in which a child becomes a member of the mother’s lineage group) it is passed on by an uncle on the mother’s side, to the nephew that he regards as his heir. All ethnographic data indicate that, for the young mukanda initiate, the gikhoko pendant officially seals the transmission of the life principle from one generation to another. The gihhoko also protected the initiated boy against every attack on his givule for the rest of his life.