Almost all Luba art includes the female form either surmounting or supporting objects such as headrests, staffs, spears, axes or bowls. The female figure holding her breasts is the most common motif in Luba art. The gesture has multiple levels of meaning, symbolizing respect, nurturing, and the role of women as mothers. The representation is also significant since the Luba trace descent through the female line. This gesture also references the fact that in Luba culture, only women are deemed strong enough to guard the profound secrets of royalty, and it is within their breasts that they protect the royal prohibitions upon which sacred kingship depends. These women also often bear signs of Luba identity such as pervasive marks of beauty in the form of scarification.
