A Lega mask, Democratic Republic of Congo, Maniema region, village Kakungu, a white face with black markings, slightly open mouth, slender nose, almost closed eyes, edged with raffia. Lega masks from the Maniema region of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo must be understood within the ethical and pedagogical framework of Bwami, the graded initiation society that structures Lega social life. Unlike mask traditions centered on public spectacle, Lega masks function primarily as didactic objects, activated in restricted contexts to transmit moral knowledge, social values, and rank. Typically small to medium in scale, Lega masks—often heart-shaped with concave faces, narrow noses, and slit eyes—are carved from wood and coated with white kaolin, a material associated with clarity, transformation, and ancestral presence. Their visual restraint reflects Lega aesthetic ideals of balance, composure, and moral refinement. Rather than representing specific individuals or spirits, these masks operate as embodied metaphors, comparable to proverbs rendered in sculptural form. In villages such as Kakungu and throughout Maniema, masks are used alongside figurines, ivory objects, and spoken aphorisms during Bwami instruction. Some are worn briefly during initiations; others are displayed, carried, or simply shown as signs of status and ethical attainment. Their meaning lies less in performance than in recognition by initiates, who understand each form as a condensed lesson about proper conduct, authority, and responsibility. Viewed in this light, Lega masks are not autonomous artworks but moral instruments, inseparable from the social processes that give them force. They reveal an artistic tradition in which form, material, and meaning are subordinated to the cultivation of ethical persons rather than visual display. CAB30268