The Bakuba, and two sub-groups, the Bushoong and Ngongo, in particular, are famous for their raffia fabrics. The diversity of design, their craftsmanship and tradition of production are renowned.

The different designs and colour schemes provide information about the wearers of the cloths, or the occasion on which they were worn. The appliqué technique is just as widespread as the embroidering of patterns. Others practise a technique in which pieces of fabric left over after individual patterns have been cut out and are quilted together.

Pieces of cloth that, at first sight, look like they have been mended have often been deliberately patched, turning them into unique "compositions".

The cloths for men (mapel) frequently have a chequered pattern (kotilaam), a design worn by nobles. Cloths embroidered with cowrie shells are reserved for kings.

This is not only a question of "clothes making people". Rather, clothing is associated with rank, distinction and history, and its wearing publicizes all this, signalling that the wearer is someone special. Ceremonial dress and accessories may include raffia tassels attached to borders, or seams deliberately left open between the central section (boom) and the edging. Ajour embroidery (drawn-thread embroidery) is a characteristic of cloths worn by widows. Here, too, the cloth is a symbol of the rank and status of the widow.

Small velvet cloths (sometimes two different patterns joined by a broad border) are worn as ornamental pieces over the everyday cloth, once again as a sign of the wearer's importance.