Animals are prominent in Kongo art, myths, and rituals. The scene of a man preparing to sacrifice a bovine may allude to an important event, such as a funeral or rite of passage.

Animals are also an important part of Kongo daily life. Kongo peoples raise fowl, goats, pigs, and, in the southern part of the kingdom which is relatively free of the tse-tse fly, cattle. The elite ate pigs, chickens, goats, and sometimes beef; while the non-elite Kongolese often used animals to pay tributes to rulers and subsisted on vegetables, eggs, and herbs.

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