Iginga ivories are used during bwami initiation rituals; they are kept exclusively by initiates of the highest level of the society. Iginga sculptures are inherited from family members (close or distant). For a certain period, the iginga are placed on the deceased’s tomb; during this time they become sacred, charged with an undefinable vital force that will be passed on to those who inherit them. They serve as reminders of virtuous individuals who followed the society’s moral and philosophical beliefs, and as a link between generations. For the Lega the iginga are secret objects that are seen only in the context of initiation rituals.

Ivory spoons are prestige objects for high-ranking members of the Bwami society. Older males eat their food with them to remind onlookers of elders’ importance to social stability, and they are also placed in the mouths of boys undergoing circumcision as biting bars. They are linked to various sayings that use the shape of the spoon for sexual imagery (“Kalukili – yo used to give me the idago [vulva], now you give me the back”), while the Bwami also hold ceremonies where members “feed” a masked performer with a spoon, giving rise to the metaphorical term: “Old Turtle is eating pounded bananas”.