The mukanda is practiced by Chokwe and related peoples in Angola, Congo and Western Zambia. A bush camp is built. All contents found therein are the property of the organizers. Parents pay numerous fees for their children's participation. The mukanda serves nearby initiates, as well as others who may travel from afar, the later necessitated by the tradition falling away in their areas.

The aim of mukanda is to transform young boys to manhood. It begins with their circumcision and continues for a period of 3 - 5 months, sometimes longer. The boys learn discipline, hunting skills and how to make costumes and masks.

Ancestral personalities are represented in costume and danced. From these experiences, boys grow into men, while custom is re-enacted and passed on. At the end of the mukanda, most reed, fibre and resin masks are destroyed by fire, together with the camp. 

The mukanda "season" begins after harvest and continues until the end of the dry season, if not longer.