Many Luba icons of power and status prominently feature female figures holding their breasts, a gesture that references the role of women as the guardian of royal secrets. Women are thought to be the source of political authority in the Luba Kingdom, which makes them a favored subject of Luba court artists. Said Nsenga Ubandilwa, a descendant of a Luba king, in a 1988 interview: "The chief will put a female figure on the staff to prove that his royal kingdom comes from this woman. It is like a sign or a memory of the woman who brought royalty to us."