The Luba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. They are native to the Katanga and Kasai regions which are contained as a semi-autonomous regions of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo, where they have lived for more than a thousand years. They speak the Tshiluba language. Most Luba art relates to kings and their subordinate chiefs, who defined their power by using carved prestige objects in their investure ceremonies. Stools are among the most important of such objects. The ruler is literally as well as figuratively supported by a female caryatid figure. Although the present-day Luba trace their descent through the male line, there is evidence that they were formerly a matrilineal people. Female caryatid figures may symbolize the continuity of power through the matriline. All depictions of feminine attributes are references to the founding female ancestor. -Robbins/Nooter