Yaka

▪ people

      a people inhabiting the wooded plateau and savanna areas between the Kwango and Wamba rivers in southwestern Congo (Kinshasa) directly bordering Angola on the west. Their origins are not certain, and Yaka is now an ethnic name given to the people of several heritages, including those related to the nearby Suku.

      Rural Yaka are subsistence farmers of cassava and corn (maize) as staple crops. Their diet is supplemented when possible by hunting or fishing. Most Yaka men seek work in Kinshasa or other urban centres, and many engage in trade in the greater Congo area. Yaka material culture (carving, basketry, metalwork, and weaving) is well known. Yaka masks and figures have distinctive bulky forms, globular eyes, and turned up noses; some are polychrome, and many have raffia cloth or fringes attached. Yaka style dominates the expressive forms of neighbouring groups.

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