Slavery

In the 18th and 19th centuries, the Chokwe found themselves divided between those who ended up as slaves, and those who bought and kept slaves of their own from within and abroad.^[8][9] The Lunda nobles of Angola employed the Chokwe as soldiers to counterattack the new colonial influence acting against the old political powers. Once the Chokwe people had weaponry, however, they overthrew the Lunda nobles and enslaved foreign tribesmen on their own plantations following the second half of the 19th-century and the early decades of the 20th.^[8] The slaves sourced from other ethnic groups of Africa became a prized possession sought by the Chokwe. In the upper Zambezi river and Kasai regions particularly, they were once a victim of well-armed Portuguese or Belgian raids from the West and Arab-Swahili raids from east (such as by Tippu Tip also known as Hamad bin Muhammad el Murjebi^[10]); later, the Chokwe people joined the violence and victimized others by capturing and shipping out a substantial number of captured slaves for financial gains, as well as purchasing and keeping slave women in their own homes from the profits of their craft work.^[9][11][12]

As the demand and financial returns of slave trade to the colonial markets grew, many slaves were captured or otherwise passed through the Chokwe controlled territory. They would allow the movement of slave men to continue west towards the ports in cooperation with the Portuguese, while women were often kept.^[9][2]: 29This practice continued long after slavery was banned in Europe and the United States, as the demand for workers elsewhere such as in South America the Caribbean continued; Swahili-Arabs, Omani, and other colonial plantation markets persist(ed), feeding an economy of smuggled slaves.^[13][11] European explorers who visited the Chokwe villages in early 20th-century reported that a majority of the women there were slaves in polygamous households and likely acted as a cause behind their population boom.^[9] In certain regions, the Chokwe people used slaves to raid their neighbors for exportable ivory stockpiles, as well as to counter the raids by militarized Arab-Swahili gangs seeking these ivory stockpiles and tribute payments.^[13][14][15]

Village Life

A Chokwe village is where relatives of the village headman, or chief, lives with their families. The Chokwe have their houses set up in a large circle with an open courtyard in the center. One of the most common features of a Chokwe village is the chota shelter. This shelter is cone-shaped made from freestanding wooden poles with a grass roof. The shelter is built in the center of the yard and is a place where visitors are received and where men meet. Some other structures that can be found within a Chokwe village are storage rooms and kitchens, which are both built right next to the houses.^{[2]: 16–17}

The Chokwe houses are made from mud bricks that are sun-dried and can either be bought or made at home in wooden molds. Bunches of thick grass are used as the roof with extra layers of thinner grass placed on top.^{[2]: 17–18}

Since the Chokwe farm, areas around the village are cleared at the beginning of the dry season where they will grow corn, cassava, and millet. Along with sweet potatoes, pumpkins, tomatoes, okra, and in certain areas, rice, beans, and peanuts. They also raise cattle, goats, pigs, and chickens, however, they only eat these animals on special occasions, such as wedding feasts.^[2]: 18

Initiation Camps

The Chokwe have separate initiation camps for the boys and for the girls. The males enter initiation camps at puberty; this process is called mukanda. An enclosure is built in a private place in the woods that is away from the village and this is where all the initiates will be circumcised. The initiates remain within the vicinity of the camp until the end of the initiation process where they will be under supervision of caretakers, or vilombola. This initiation may last for a couple of months to a year and initiates are not allowed to return to the village or approach women or members that are not initiated until they are graduated. Within the initiation process, elders will educate the initiates on Chokwe religion, sexuality, crafts, and tradition. Once they graduate, they are considered to be "reborn" into the Chokwe society.^{[2]: 38–39}

The female initiation is called ukule. This encompasses the camp itself and the related events through which young women pass into adulthood. Women are initiated individually, unlike mukanda where they are initiated as a group, and require individual education that will prepare them for marriage shortly after the initiation ends. The camp is built on the outskirts of the village and consists of a cone-shaped grass hut, similar to the ones in the village, where the initiates sleep and spend their evenings. To prepare an initiate's body for birth, an elder scars her abdomen and lower back by cutting and flaring the skin and applying ashes into the wound. At the end, the initiate's body is painted with linear designs. She proceeds to walk in a procession through the village where she will perform dances that she learned during her initiation as well as receive gifts from relatives and neighbors.^{[2]: 44–49}

Royal Arts

Many pieces that are used among the royal chiefs depict the chiefs themselves, as well as royal ancestors and female royal figures. There are many pieces depicting royalty, such as sculptural figures, stools, thrones, spears, scepters, staffs, pipes, snuff mortars (tobacco mortars), ceremonial axes, whistles, jewelry, combs, containers, and horns.^{[7]: 30–65}

When the Chokwe use the term "throne", it is used to speak of carved chairs and joined square stools. This is because these Chokwe chairs and stools express power and prestige that their owners possess, the keepers of social order. The thrones alone, stand as symbols of order and power. When referring to a carved stool or chair that belongs to a chief, headman, or an important elder, it is referred to as ngunja, because it is to express respect for the influential rank of the owner on top of the messages that are behind the carvings.^[19]: 69

Animal Symbolism

The Chokwe incorporate images of animals within their artwork. Some images include birds, bats, rabbits, baboons, lions, aardvarks, and pangolins (anteaters), as well as domestic dogs and pigs. Furs, feathers, claws, beaks, and bones are used to decorate divination costumes.^[2]: 34

A chief may be called a lion because it represents power and regal qualities that the chief wants to associate himself with. A chief may also associate himself with bats as symbols of authority, which suggest to the people that the chief can fly at night and be conscious of everything happening within his territory. ^[2]: 34

A diviner may keep the fur of genets (nocturnal wildcats) which suggests that they have the ability to move at night as well as discover the hidden intentions of evildoers because a few features of the genet is that it is fast and a shy creature. People of the Chokwe community believe that the genet is able to vanish with invisibility so anyone who owns the fur of it can become invisible from others.^[2]: 34

The Chokwe believes that dogs also are able to see things that are invisible to humans. When the people are asleep and the dogs howl, it is believed that they are warning their owners about invisible beings. Baboons are favored because they behave just like humans and have families. The Chokwe believe that the aardvark and scaly anteater are in contact with the ancestors of the underworld since these animals live underground. The Chokwe name for the pangolin is nkaka, which is the same word for grandfather.^{[2]: 34–35}

Restitution

A recurring issue in foreign academic circles is the origins of various artworks contained museums abroad. Some efforts have been undertaken to return the artworks to the suspected source.

An example of this is the return of six objects to the National Museum of Dundo in northeastern Angola, where they were initially believed to have been lost. Overall, eleven objects have been identified as being part of the Dundo collection and have been successfully returned to Angola. ^{[20]: 8–9}

Ritual Masks

Most of the masks are painted in three basic colors, black, red, and white, and are typically made from vegetable fibers and pieces of cloth and paper.^{[22]: 39–40}

When it comes to wearing a Chokwe ritual mask, there are certain qualifications that must be met beforehand.^[23]: 41

Chokwe masqueraders have a belief that by spitting into the ritual mask that they are about to put on, it is considered a purification, an offering, and also a way of presenting a request to the ancestorial spirit. Another reason for the spitting is that it is also said to gain the trust of the spirits protection against any evil possessions as well as eliminate them.^[23]: 41

The Chokwe have many masks surrounding rituals. There are three categories of ritual masks that the Chokwe distinguish between; the cikungu or makishi wa mwanangana mask, which represents the chief's ancestors and is only brought out on special occasions, the makishi a ku mukanda, this mask plays a role in the mukanda initiation, and the makishi a kuhangana, which is a dance mask and is primarily kept and performed by the owners.^[23]: 41

The makishi wa Cikunza is a mask that is associated with the mukanda circumcision ritual and is referenced as a grasshopper which is known for its procreative powers therefore symbolizing fertility. The headdress of this mask and all its material and decorations represent the horns of an antelope, which symbolize power and virility. In one hand of the masquerader, he carries a mukwale sword or a rifle and in the other hand, he carries a citete branch and the job of the mask is to seek out those who need to be circumcised and lead them to the bush where the circumcision ritual will occur as well as protect the circumcised boys during the ritual.^[23]: 42

Cihongo Ritual Mask

The makishi wa Cikungu mask is the largest Chokwe mask and belongs to the mwanangana and resembles the chief's ancestors. The owner of this mask, the mwanangana, will make sacrifices of a goat or rooster with the mukwale sword and once the goat or rooster is sacrificed, it is then hung around a pole of the hut that is in the center of the village.^{[23]: 42–43}

Since this mask is the largest out of them all, it has wings at its side that are said to represent the black stork khumbi, and the sawtooth pattern that decorates the mask is associated with "the viper of the stork" The makishi wa Cikungu mask has a band of triangles that decorates the mask, which is called yenge, representing the Gaboon viper and its triangular designs on its back. When it comes to masquerades, the masquerader is always the owner and will wear the chiefs floor-length skirt and will also carry the sword or a rifle, similar to the makishi wa Cikunza masquerader.^{[23]: 42–43}

Pwo Dance Mask

The Cihongo mask, originally called Cimyanji, is a dance mask, and it is a very well-known mask among the Chokwe community. This mask represents the spirit of the wealthy and is worn by the chief, his son, and his nephew. It is believed that back in ancient times, this mask was used as a tool for justice and could accuse spectators of crimes that were ultimately punishable by death. Similar to the Cinkunza, this mask is a hamba and can also be a makishi as well and can cause infertility in women, sickness in men, or unsuccessful hunting if it is displeased.^{[23]: 43–44}

The last ritual mask that the Chokwe use is the Pwo (woman) or Mwana Pwo (girl) mask, which closely resemble portraits, and it is a mask that is hamba by nature and is only for its owner. This mask is primarily used to represent a mature woman who has proven her fertility by having a child, however, it may also represent a girl and the hope of having an offspring. This mask is performed by a male masquerader who grants fertility to the spectators during his performance of the mask. Once the dancer of the mask passes, these masks are also buried as if they were a person.^[23]: 44

Religion

The traditional religious beliefs of the Chokwe center around ancestor spirits worship.^[4] In groups where chiefs exist, they are considered the representative of god Kalunga or Nzambi, therefore revered and called Mwanangana or "overseer of the land." There is sometimes perceived to be a spiritual connection between works of arts such as handicrafts and carved objects and ancestors, as well as god Kalunga or Nzambi. With the colonial era, Chokwe converted to Christianity en masse yet the original beliefs were retained to produce a syncretism of beliefs and practices.^[4] They have, for example, continued their spirit-rituals from pre-Christian era, as well maintained their elaborate rites-of-passage ceremonies particularly to mark the entry into adulthood by men and women.^[1][4]

The Chokwe build ancestral shrines where they place sculptures, objects, and artifacts. These objects that are placed within the ancestral shrines are meant to contain or represent the spirits as well as serve as a point of contact between the living and the spiritual forces. These shrines, called kachipango, the Chokwe will invoke, or call, their ancestral spirits.^[2]: 31