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Figure | akua-ba
Fertility figure, 1930 - 1980
About the object
The reverse of this oval and slightly convex facial disc is engraved with patterns of simple, partly intersecting lines and triangles. The raised horizontal central line, which divides the face into two halves at eye level, is a particularly distinctive feature. The figure has been blackened. Author: Michael Schönhuth
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The name akua-ba means daughter of Akua. It refers to a tradition according to which a woman named Akua was advised by a priest to carry such a doll with her in order to fulfil her desire to bear children. Such figures are usually carved from the pale-coloured osese wood (funtumia sp.). Secondary sources contain contradictory statements about their use. Whether they were worn by little girls or adult women, by childless or pregnant women, or whether they were also kept in cult houses, the figure itself was always associated with the fertility of women. The predominently female representations refer to the preference for girls as progeny, for only females are deemed the bearers of the bloodline. Author: Michael Schönhuth
