Woman’s Bustle (Negbe) and Front Piece (Nogimwu)

At the beginning of the twentieth century, upper-class Mangbetu women wore a small banana or plantain leaf bustle (called a negbe) in the back to cover their buttocks. The women appliqued delicately cut and colored pieces of leaves atop an oval pad built up of layered plantain leaves. A similar but smaller object (called a nogetwe) was worn in the front over a belt to fasten a piece of bark cloth in place as a frontal covering.