Ghana wood h=31.5 cm Purpose: ritual Thematic classification: Art of Ashanti people
Wooden figurine with accentuated oval and flat head.
Akua'ba wooden figurines are characteristic for the Ashantis – a large ethnical group living in Ghana. They were made by women who always carried them like a real child in order to ensure fertility. Pregnant women carried them to ensure that they would give birth to a healthy and pretty baby. The Ashantis are a matrilinear society where the origin is inherited by the female line. Therefore these dolls were passed down from mother to daughter. Aqua'ba for girls is a special doll treated as a real child to prepare for motherhood.
