The Pende people inhabit the left bank of the Kasai River and are particularly known for their artistic skills, as is seen in their masks. This chief’s bicorn beaded hat, an important item of chiefly regalia, was originally appropriated from the Lunda people. Constructed of plant fibers, these hats have a central knob-like protuberance in the front, a finial at the crown, and horns projecting forward from each side, and are covered all over with beadwork. The distinctive horns are said to represent the strength and power of the buffalo, an allusion to the powers of chieftaincy. The arrangement of the beads in vividly colored geometric patterns of triangles, zigzags, lozenges, and circles is consistent throughout the area. This copy is missing the beads at the top of the finial. More recently, since the 1940s, Yaka and Suku chiefs have borrowed these beaded bicorn hats from the Pende as part of their own leadership regalia.

The Yaka people primarily live in southwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighboring northeastern Angola. They speak a Bantu language and are related to the Kongo people. The beads, however, are common to the whole region and were traded into the area between 1900 and 1930 in connection with the latex industry, and they are likely from Bohemia (Czech Republic). Among the Pende, these headdresses are called misango mapende, among the Yaka misango mayaka.