Bulongo is named as the archmuzimu, the chief ancestral shade for the whole of the Ila country. In the graded scheme of Ila belief the family mizhimo are the lowest and most numerous spirits; above them stand the tutelary divinities of particular communities, such as Sikaumpa at Baambwe and Simunenga at Maala; over all of these presides Bulongo, and supreme above Bulongo stands Leza the Creator. Little narrative attaches to the figure, whose importance is structural: Bulongo marks the point at which the many local shades are gathered into a single guardian presence covering the entire land, mediating between the community divinities below and the high god above.