FERTILITY DOLLS Akua'ba

Ashanti Culture, Ghana

First half of the 20th century

Wood, pigments and pearls

H.: 38; L: 16; Thickness: 5 cm

This statuette with a stylized cylindrical body presents a particularly large disc-shaped face. His eyebrow arches in relief meet in a slender nose, his small mouth consists of two rectangular lips, his eyes are two circular pellets with horizontal incisions.

Small holes at the level of the ears and the frontal end support ornaments of glass beads of different colors. Beaded ornaments are also found on the doll's neck and feet.

The neck is fluted and marks the junction with the T-shaped body comprising straight arms, sculpted perpendicular to the bust – whose chest is manifested in two small cones, a belly with the navel in relief and the feet seem included in a circular base.

The term Akua'ba means "child of Akua". This name refers to a myth of the Ashanti culture: a young woman called Akua encountered difficulties in giving birth so she went to consult a warrior-priest. The latter advised him to carve a child's figure out of wood and take care of it as if it were his own. Akua complied. Later, Akua gave birth to a daughter. These dolls have since been the symbol of fertility.

Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

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