The Songye people, sometimes written Songye, are a Bantu ethnic group   fromthe central Democratic Republic of the Congo. They inhabit a vast territorybetween the Sankuru and Lubilash riversin the west and the   Lualaba River   in the east. Many Songye villages can befound in present-day East Kasai province, parts of Katanga and Kivu Province. Thepeople of Songye are divided into thirty-four conglomerate societies; eachsociety is led by a single chief with a Judiciary Council of elders and nobles(bilolo). Smaller kingdoms east of the Lomami River refer tothemselves as Songye, other kingdoms in the west, refer to themselves as Kaleb we,Eki, Ilande, Bala, Chofwe, Sanga and Tempa. As a society, the people of Songyeare mainly known as a farming community; they do, however, take part in huntingand trading with other neighboring communities. The mask is approximately 11inches high and 6 inches wide but with the display stand is 14 inches high.