African Dolls - Fertility Dolls
Child Figures from Southern Africa
Poupées Africaines - Afrikanische Puppen
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Zulu Fertility Dolls
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Zulu Doll 'A'
Zulu dolls from the Msinga area were made by girls at the time of their engagement, then worn on her neck during special occasions. If the owner visited her prospective in-laws she would put the doll’s hair over it’s face as a sign of respect. After she married, a tuft of red wool would be put on the doll’s head which made the statement; I’m married. The doll would be put in a place of honor in her hut and eventually would be given to her child or grandchild.
These pictures were likely taken in the 1960's and would have been commissioned by the girls to send to their boyfriends who lived in the urban centers. Each girl holds a related doll.
Zulu Doll 'B'
This dolls coiffeur has a long bun, which was a Zulu fashion prior to 1920. The image to the lower right shows two girls of the period dressing hair.
Doll measures + - 11 cms. The Zulu doll carries a baby. We know of only two or three such examples. The example below appears in 'Tracing the Rainbow' and may very well have been made by the same hand.
Figure 151 - Tracing the Rainbow - Page 189
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Ngwambe Doll - Angola
Circa 1960's
Ngambwe Doll - Angola
Until a few years ago, little contact had been made with the Ngambwe people, who are relatives of the Mwila, Mucabal and Ndimba clans of Southern Angola. Dolls are handed down from mother to daughter to care for like children. The name given to the doll will become the name of the daughters’ first-born child. The centre or core of Ngambwe dolls is made from a solid piece of carved wood. The core of this doll holds a deep rich patina of animal fat.
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Fabric is obtained from the doll makers' actual clothing. Plastic, wire and grass fibre rings are added from those worn by the owner. Below, a young girl holds a related doll.
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Angolan Doll
Doll measures + - 23 cms.
Beads decorate the a braided hairdo, meant to replicate the owners own coiffure.
Follow this link to
learn more about child figures from Angola.
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About African Dolls...
Most dolls in Africa are used by children, primarily girls, to help them envisage their future roles as adult women, mothers and the primary caregivers in their communities.
Though used in play, the forms of many dolls encode important social and aesthetic concepts about appropriate demeanor and the links between physical and moral beauty.
Not surprisingly, dolls in different African societies emphasize in both form and decoration, aspects of ideal feminine beauty. They include elaborate coiffures, body ornamentation and physical features that underscore the importance of fertility.
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Ba Tonka Clay Dolls
Circa 1980
From the John Williams Collection
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Doll measures + - 27 cms
Museum records confirm that most of the tribal peoples of Southern Africa origin made clay dolls during the 19th century. The Ba Tonka "or Batonga" are no exception. They live on both sides of the Zambezi River and Lake Kariba in Zambia and Zimbabwe. In 1960 the Kariba dam was completed, making it at the time the largest man made dam ever built. The Ba Tonka were forced to relocate away from the flooding valleys where they had lived and fished for what may be three millennium.
Ba Tonka Women - Circa 1949 - Barbara Tyrrell / Peter Jurgens
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"EVOCATIONS of the Child" refers to Southern African child figures made of clay as "Children of the Earth". John Williams collected both clay dolls on the Zambian side of the river. His Southern African collection contained mostly items dated to the mid 20th century or before.
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Doll measures + - 30 cms.
This second example has a removable head. To our knowledge, clay dolls by the same hand are only known in one museum collection.
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Ndebele Dolls - South Africa
umndwana
Circa 1950's
Beaded Ndebele dolls were made for adolescent girls either by their mothers or by the girls themselves.
Adult women in traditional Ndebele dress.
The Ndebele dressed their dolls much as they did their person. Sometimes beaded rings encircle the dolls arms, patterned after actual arm rings worn by Ndebele women.
Small doll charms were made to be given away as presents - or sold as souvenirs. This example dates to the 1950's and sports oxidized copper wire leg rings.
Ivys Album - Ndebele Section
The Ndebele Ndzundza live in Mpumalanga South Africa and called their dolls "umndwana".
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Ntwane Initiation Dolls
Gimwane
Circa 1970's
Ntwane Girls with Gimwane Dolls - Barbara Tyrrell - Circa 1950
The emphasis on the Ntwane women’s central role as wives and mothers is pervasive even before female initiation. It finds its most visible form in the gimwane or popenyane – a traditional fertility doll constructed from plaited grass, wool, and beads.
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Three Ntwane "gimwane" dolls made for young girls initiation.
The skills necessary for producing the gimwane are passed down from mother to daughter. Pre-initiate girls pretend the dolls are the progeny of their current boyfriends, who are invited to participate in a dance competition, the outcome of which determines the leader of the prepubescent group.
Ntwane Girl with Gimwane Doll - Barbara Tyrrell - Circa 1950
The young boys usually congregate at the home of one of the girls, who place the gimwane in a line. The “fathers” and “mothers’ then form two rows on either side of the fertility dolls and proceed to dance with their partners.
Young girls initiation. Tribal Peoples - Page 75
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