Head Wrapping: How The Mangbetu People Of Northern Congo Showed Their Beauty

Via: rarehistoricalphotos

A Mangbetu mother is seen holding her wide-eyed infant in this photo, dated c. 1930.

Before the custom died out in the mid-20th century, the Mangbetu people of northeastern Congo had a distinctive method of showing beauty and intelligence among themselves. Known as "Lipombo", the procedure consisted of tightly wrapping cord or cloth around a child's head from birth, with the purpose of elongating the skull. The process would continue a few years beyond infancy, with the extent of deformity tailored to the tastes of mother and child.

Via: rarehistoricalphotos

With more Europeans settling in the area throughout the 1950's, Lipombo was seen as a barbaric custom contradicting modern Western values. The ritual would be outlawed by then-ruling Belgian government, quite ironic given their track record of atrocities against the Congolese population.