The Chokwe, a Bantu people inhabiting modern-day Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, were originally one of the twelve subject peoples of the Lunda Empire of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries AD. But soon, the Chokwe began refusing to pay tribute to the sitting Lunda king, and by AD 1900, they had overthrown the Lunda Empire altogether. Through the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries AD, the Chokwe maintained their independence, fighting a reactionary campaign against both the Europeans and their neighbouring tribes. Chokwe culture is complex. Power and inheritance are passed down the matrilineal line; ritual, martial and judicial power are vested in the royal chief. The tribe believe in important spirits (mahamba), which can either be makulwana, the ancestors, or yipwiya, a malevolent parasitic spirit. These spirits could inhabit termite mounds, trees, carved figures, or masks.

This mask comes under the category of makishi wa mwanangana, masks celebrating the ancestors. In particular, it is a cihongo, a mask that celebrates the spirit of the ancestors in bringing wealth and good fortune to the tribe. The cihongo is a male mask; it has a female counterpart called the mwana pwo. The mask depicts an elder, as can be told by the horizontal semi-circular beard that juts out from his chin. He is painted red with clay and oil. He has elliptical eyes, mostly closed to evoke those of a deceased person. They are set in large round orbits, calling to mind skull imagery, with high arching eyebrows above. The forehead is sensitively carved, leading to a bald cranium. He has small hemispherical ears, positioned halfway up the face. He bears a sharply defined mouth, partially open, its protruding flattened lips framing filed triangular teeth. His face is covered with the tattoos associated with his tribe. On his forehead, the cingelyengelye, a cross pattern which has its origins in the Christian tokens given to the Chokwe by Capuchin monks from the Order of Christ of Portugal in the Seventeenth Century AD. Below his eyes, the masoju, symbolising tears. He wears a spectacular headdress, composed of a circle of feathers radiating from the crest of the head. Most cihongo masks had such a feathered headdress, as can be seen from the holes around the top of the masks, but very few are preserved, and even fewer are as magnificent as this example.

Cihongo masks were exclusive, only to be worn by the chief, his sons, or his nephews. It represented the male progenitor of the tribal line. It was worn especially at mukanda, male initiation. Chokwe society was divided into male (mugonge) and female (ukule) societies, each with their own initiations and rituals. Mukanda training lasts from one to two years. Boys between the ages of about eight and twelve are secluded in a camp in the wilderness, away from the village. There they are circumcised and spend several months in a special lodge where they are instructed in their anticipated roles as men. As part of their instruction, the boys are taught the history and traditions of the group and the secrets associated with the wearing and making of masks. Sometimes the cihongo was worn at the same time as the mwana pwo, and an elaborate dance was conducted; the bringing together of male and female elements ensured harmony for the tribe, and the fertility and productivity of their fields.