Congolese Kuba People Cosmetic Box: "Tukula" Box
Collection: Spiritual Connections
Object Category: Religious Items
Object Type: Ritual Object
Country: Democratic Republic of the Congo
Continent: Africa
Geographic Region: Middle Africa
Materials: Wood
width: 11.5 in;
height: 3 in;
depth: 4 in
This is a Congolese Kuba People box used to hold tukula, a cosmetic very valuable to the Kuba people.
Tukula powder had a number of ceremonial uses, including coloring the faces and bodies of dancers during ritual dances and anointing the bodies of the dead before burial.
The boxes to hold the tukula were often highly decorated as a kind of competition with other members of the community.
http://adunniorganics.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/camwood2-concentrate.jpg
Source:
http://www.randafricanart.com/Kuba_tukula_box_2.html
http://www.jacarandatribal.com/productdetails.php?productId=688&categoryId=17
https://exquisiteafricanart.com/project/kuba-tukula-box-2/