Pipe

Tobacco pipe; dark brown in color; stem of pipe is bent upward at the mouth piece end; long cylindrical bone mouth piece protrudes from the center of the top end of pipe; five raised rings are carved around rim; a strand of plant fiber, yellowish in color, is wrapped several times around neck of pipe; cylindrical stem; Imbolo pattern on lower end of stem-series of parallel lines, crisscrossing, forming small diamond shapes; base of stem has a piece of plant fiber wrapped tightly around it; stem of pipe goes through bottom portion of bowl; bowl has an hourglass shape; top portion is larger and opened at top; bottom part has a flat base; bowl is ornamented with two raised rings around the center and two rows of tiny triangles around both rim and base.

Tobacco was introduced to the west coast from America by the Portuguese in the 16th centruy. The Bushongo have a legend they learned to cultivate and smoke tobacco from their culture hero and king, Shamba Bolongongo, who had himself learned it's use from the Bapende in the west. Shamba Bolongongo is believed to have lived in the early 17th century.