| ASANTE (ACHANTI, ASHANTE, ASHANTI) Ghana |
| Asante akua'ba figure The legend of the origination of the Akua'ba doll comes from the story of a woman named "Akua" (many variations of the name are found as there are many variations of the spelling of "akua'ba") who could not get pregnant and went to a local diviner or priest and commissioned the carving of a small wooden doll. She carried and cared for the doll as if it were her own child, feeding it, bathing it and so on. Soon the people in the village started calling it "Akua" "ba" - meaning "Akua's child", since "ba" meant child. She soon became pregnant and her daughter grew up with the doll. The legend and tradition still live on today... If an Akan/Asante woman had difficulty conceiving she would be encouraged to visit a local shrine accompanied by a senior woman in her family. There she might purchase a figure such as this, which would be placed for a period on the altar, later to be reclaimed by the woman along with certain medicines. The sculpture was then carried, fed, bathed, and otherwise cared for by the woman as if it was a living baby. It was thought that in doing this the woman would have a better chance to have a healthy and beautiful baby. Once the woman conceived and had a successful delivery, she would return the figure to the shrine as a form of offering. If the child died, the akua’ba might be kept by the woman as a memorial. The symbolism of these dolls is specific: “The flat, disk like head is a strongly exaggerated conception of the Akan ideal of beauty: Round or oval shaped heads are considered ideal and this is accomplished in actual practice by the gently modeling of an infant’s soft cranial bones. The flat profile of these figures is also more practical when they are carried against the back wrapped in the woman’s skirt. Also standard is the ringed neck, a convention for rolls of fat and hence beauty and prosperity…the small scars seen on the faces of many akua’ba are those made for medicinal purposes as protection against convulsions. Most Asante akua’ba have abstracted, horizontal arms and a cylindrical torso with breasts and a navel, but ending in a base rather than human legs. Sources: Sotheby's, AFRICA - The Art of A Continent, The Royal Art of Africa |
| A Fante mother carrying her child in a wrapper on her back. Photograph by Doran H. Ross Legu, Ghana, 1976 |
| An akua'ba tucked into the wrapper of an Asante woman. Photograph by Herbert M. Cole, Ghana, 1972 |
| ex Galerie Walu ex Helmut and Marianne Zimmer 8” tall I love the designs on the back of the head as well as the carved ridge going down the back of the figure. I also enjoy how the neck meets the back of the head in the middle of the head instead of towards the bottom. It also has a sweet expressive face. Lots of wear from handling. |
