Akua'ba Fertility Dolls - Ashanti Culture, Ghana - First Half Of The 20th Century

Akua'ba Fertility Dolls
Ashanti culture, Ghana
First half of the 20th century
Wood, pigments and beads
H: 38 ; W: 16 ; D: 5 cm

This statuette with a stylised cylindrical body has a particularly large disc-shaped face. Its eyebrow arches in relief meet in a long nose, its small mouth consists of two rectangular lips, its eyes are two circular dots with horizontal incisions. 
Small holes in the ears and at the forehead end support glass bead ornaments of different colours. Beaded ornaments are also found on the doll's neck and feet. 
The neck is fluted and joins the T-shaped body with straight arms, carved perpendicular to the bust - whose chest is manifested in two small cones, a belly with a raised umbilicus and the feet appear to be enclosed in a circular base. 

The term Akua'ba means 'the child of Akua'. This name refers to a myth from the Ashanti culture: a young woman called Akua had difficulties giving birth so she went to consult a priest-warrior. The priest advised her to carve a wooden figure of a child and to look after it as if it were her own. Akua did so. Later, Akua gave birth to a daughter. These dolls have been a symbol of fertility ever since. 
                                    
Text and photos © FCP CORIDON

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