“The tribespeople of this region survive economically from rearing cattle and farming maize and rice. The area can be divided into two regions – the first lies along the shore of Lake Tanganyika and is, from the north to south, inhabited by the following tribes – the Ha, the Jiji, the Tongwe, the Holoholo, who also live on the western side of the lake, which is in the Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire), and the Bende, the Fipa and the Mambwe.

The second region is along the shore of Lake Nyasa, on the frontier with Malawi and Mozambique. This volcanic area, rich in minerals and exceptionally fertile, supports a rich agriculture of maize, rice and banana groves. From north to south, the most famous tribes living in this region are – the Nyakusa/Konde, the Kinga, the Bena, the Pangwa, the Kisi, the Manda, the Mpoto and the Ngoni. In spite of the numerous tribes that live in these two regions, scholars have not studied them as extensively as their Zairean neighbours.”

“The artistic traditions of the tribes who live in the second area are comparatively less well known. Nevertheless, there is evidence that carvers were active in this area and they were influenced by their southern neighbours such as the use of light wood highlighted with darkened details.”