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.
Dancer doll

Bone figure

San doll

Fertility doll

Ikoku doll

Mother Creator

Samburu fertility figures

Beaded 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.
Female Xhosa doll in traditional costume

Figure with mask
