Fante Akua'ba Fertility Doll
Tribe: Fante
Country: Ghana
Material: Wood, Beads.
Size: 15" (38cm) Tall
Condition: Very Good. Good Patina, used original doll.
It is one of the more familiar stories in African cultural history. In what is now central Ghana, at some time in the distant past, a young Asante woman named Akua (Wednesday born) was having trouble conceiving a child (ba). To solve the problem she consulted a local priest, who divined that Akua should commission a woodcarving of a little child. The priest instructed her to treat the carving as if it were a living infant. She was to carry it as all young children are carried, on her back, tucked into her wrapper with just the head appearing above the cloth.She was told to feed the figure, bathe it, sleep with it, and give it gifts—such as waist beads and beaded earrings and necklaces. |
