MAKISHI encompasses a collective grouping of mask characters OR spirits prevalent in the societies of north-western Zambia - the Luvale, the Chokwe, the Mbunda and the Luchazi tribes.

These mask characters serve as a powerful link to important ancestral spirits and appear during ceremonial occasions to portray and embed cultural beliefs.

The masks portray powerful beliefs and values for each society, and are worn or make their appearance during important ceremonies, mostly those of transition to adulthood - initiation ceremonies known as mukanda (for boys) and wali (for girls)

Masks often coincide and link back to the very beginnings of each society and hold within their character, fragments of the history of that particular tribe or group, hence the great number and variety of mask characters.

Women play a key role in much of tribal life as they cultivate and produce food, bear children and act as anchors around which families develop. They are the workhorses of African societies and their status as a central social figure bestowed superiority upon them over men.

It is argued that the superior social postion of women historically resulted in the development of the various Makishi mask characters by the men who were well versed in the realm of the unkown spirits. This led to a balance in superiority through superstition and fear which is still practised today through the various makishi ceremonies.