Where masks are concerned, a few rare, generic types exist. Whether they are made of wood or ivory, are large or small, they all express the symbolic ties that the living maintain with deceased bwami members who have become ancestors. Forming a real connection between the generations, they take the place of and recall important initiates who have died and underline their constant presence among the living. Most such idimu masks were sculpted in wood and afterwards whitened with kaolin clay, but a few rare specimens, such as this one here, were carved from ivory. This mask was kept by Kalindé from the Pangi region, a man who had climbed to the rank of lutumbo lwa kindi. It was the property of the entire ritual community of the Pangi region. The initiated passed it on to his heir as soon as the latter had reached the required rank. During initiations, this idimu mask was exhibited on a braided pala rack, surrounded by smaller masks of ivory or bone. These were called lukungu.