AFRICAN DOLLS - BETWEEN RITUAL AND PLAY

A selection from the Wickler collection and the museum depository

 

While in the European cultural region dolls exclusively serve as toys for children or as collector’s items, dolls in Africa are in many ethnic groups part of the cultural heritage. 

African dolls can be grouped in two categories: as a toy or as an object used in ritual context. Transitions between toy and ritual object are sometimes fluid; a doll can serve in both functions, and the meaning changes under certain circumstances. 

Dolls are therefore not only toys for small or adolescent girls; they embody social and religious values of the community. They serve as a medium between the living and the world of spirits and supernatural powers; sometimes they serve as ritual object in the cure of illness.

Dolls are an inherent part of daily life among all social groups. Some dolls are lucky charms for adolescent girls or women in achieving the goal of many children. Children play an important role, they not only ensure the sequence of generations, but also allow the deceased to enter the world of their ancestors by means of offerings and worship.

The selection of dolls from the Wickler collection and the museum depository from different African regions show a variety of forms and materials.
 

Pfeil runterDancer doll

Likishi- dancer doll of the Luvale, Mbunda and Chokwe.
After the end of initiation, boys perform as representatives of the ancestor's spirits (Sambia).

 

Pfeil runterFertility figures

Fertility figures from Ivory coast.

 

Pfeil runterBone figure

Iginga bone figurine, Lega people (D.R. Congo).
During initiation ceremonies for the advancement to a higher social rank, teachers use the figurines to explain the ancestor's history and moral standards.

Pfeil runterSan doll

Doll of the San people (Namibia).
The term "San" is used for several ethnic groups in Southern Africa; it ist derived from a name used by the Nama people in South Africa.

Pfeil runterFertility doll

Fertility doll mwana hiti (= wooden child) from the Turkana people of Kenya.
The father carves the doll for his daughter, her mother embroiders it; the doll ist used for practicing the girl's future role as a mother. 

Pfeil runterIkoku doll

Turkana Ikoku doll (Kenya), made from three doum palm fruits which are grown together.
Mothers produce these dolls for their daughters as playthings, young women wear them as a charm.

Pfeil runterMother Creator

Mother Creator Akua-ba figurines of the Ashanti people (Ghana, also in other West African countries).
Women with the desire to have children carry them around, even in form of a haircomb.

Pfeil runterSamburu fertility figures

2 Samburu (Kenya) figurines and clothed figure made of fired clay.
Such figures are used as demonstration objects for aspects of family life and fertility.

Pfeil runterBeaded Zulu dolls

Beaded Zulu dolls (KwaZulu Natal, South Africa). 
The bigger dolls are used for fertility and healing ceremonies, as a charm for many children and today in the car as a protection against car accidents. 
The small dolls made of beads and wire are symbols for one's own abundance of children but also a complaint of woman's role reduced to bearing children. 

Pfeil runterFemale figure

Female figure with child of the Zulu people (South Africa).

Pfeil runterFemale Xhosa doll in traditional costume

Female Xhosa doll in traditional costume with the typical headdress, which is worn out of respect for the head of the family (Eastern Cape Province, South Africa).

Pfeil runterFigure with mask

Figure with mask made of inner bark and bark, supposedly used for initiation (Zambia).