They believe their ancestors to have been cannibals, they work with metal and music, they produce palm oil and maize. They are the Mangbetu tribe, elite among their brethren on the banks of the Zaire, in the northern reaches of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Two hundred years ago, they were a small clan marching south from Sudan. The Mangbetus had a knack for ruling and absorbed neighboring tribes into their own as they migrated. They rubbed shoulders, and more, with the Bantu and Pygmy people, and the inter-mingling and inter-marrying produced a hierarchy at which they were the top. The Mangbetu men who governed were known, and required, to possess nataate and nakira – the first an innate social quality, which translates into the respect of others, and the second, technical ability, which makes for a capable leader who can dance and sing.

Among their subjects, the Mangbetu nobility was easily identified, for their skulls were exceptionally long. A tradition called Lipombo, this artificial head elongation was a mark of beauty among the tribe. When a baby was one month old, its tiny, soft skull was wrapped in strips of giraffe hide or chord. The wrapping, continually adjusted for six months as the head grew, stretched the malleable skull and created a form not unlike that of Queen Nefertiti and King Tut in ancient Egypt, who were considered icons of majesty and success.

Underlying the aesthetic was also the rationale that an increased brain cavity produced increased intelligence, and the child would grow to be a worthy leader, continuing the legacy of his noble ancestors. The regal elegance of the elongated skull was then further accentuated with the most elaborate coiffeurs. The hair was braided and stretched, wrapped around a straw halo and pinned into place. The cylindrical shape, a kind of reverse “beehive,” was looked upon with respect and admiration.