lukasa

thumbnail|Lukasa memory board, from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum thumbnail|Beadwork Headdress for Mbudye Official, from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum Lukasa, "the long hand" (or claw), is a memory device that was created, manipulated and protected by the Bambudye, a once powerful secret society of the Luba. Lukasa are examples of Luba art.

==History== The story of the lukasa is closely associated with the history of the Luba kingdom, which dominated most of northern Shaba during the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth century. No candidate for political office could receive his title without first becoming a member of the Bambudye society, and the ruler of the Luba kingdom held the highest ranking Bambudye title. Reefe states that while it is not possible to date the origins of the lukasa, the high degree of integration of the lukasa into the structure of the Bambudye society and into the oral lore of the Luba kingdom strongly suggests that this art form is of considerable antiquity.