Headrests were commonly used in African cultures. Some were designed to preserve certain very elaborate hairstyles and kept the head at the same level as the shoulders during sleep. However, their function was far more than strictly utilitarian. Since they were associated with sleep and with dreams, it was believed that the headrest was a recipient of occult forces. They were very personal objects and were never lent to anyone else. In one tribe, the Dogon, it was believed that the head of the village’s spiritual leader should never touch the ground, lest disaster strike. Some can be very simple and some have intricate carving of animals or human shapes. An outstanding feature of headrests made by the Luba tribe in Congo is their elegance. Each headrest is an expression of the person who owned it. The more elaborate the carving, the more important the owner was. Headrests were made and used by people at every socioeconomic level and were not considered art, although members of the upper classes commissioned more elaborate ones to commemorate religious and life cycle events such as marriages.

The primary role of headrests was functional and they were not considered art. Often, the owner, either around the neck, the waist or, in the case of headrests, carried them with a hole in the stem, on the arm like a handbag. They are still used in some isolated African tribes.