Evocations of the Child

 

Fertility Figures of the Southern African Region

Published 1998 -  231 Pages

 

African fertility dolls have become increasingly collectable in the West. This book examines the origins of the dolls and the roles they play in the societies from which they originate. Many are used as children's play things but in contrast they are also used by adults in the performance of specific local, and often ancient, rituals.

The text is the first to examine this fascinating aspect of African art in such depth. Beautifully illustrated throughout with over 200 color images, it includes texts from several of the leading experts in the field of African art studies. 

The book examines the origins of these dolls and the roles that they play in the societies from which they originate throughout southern Africa. Many are used just as they would be in Western society: children use them as play things, mimicking the actions of their mothers in nursing and caring for infants. In contrast they are also used by adults in the performance of specific local, and often ancient, rituals.

Examples were chosen from public and private collections and often represent the finest known. This work is a celebration of a remarkable Southern African art form.

From The Publisher

Many of the public and private collections around South Africa contain examples of what have come to be called 'fertility dolls': small, usually anthropomorphic forms fabricated by women, with a believed ceremonial use in aspects of the maturation and identity of women. It is within this definition that the selection of material for the exhibition and this volume is made.. "Each essay in this volume explores the evidence for fertility images in a particular region or time in southern Africa, using the loose definition of miniature form with associations of fertility.

 

Acknowledgements 6
Foreword 8
Preface 9
Introduction 11
Women and material markers of identity 21
Double talk 29
The sorghum child: Nguana modula: South Sotho child figures 35
Fertile flowers of femininity: South Sotho fertility figures 53
Children of birth: Bana ba pelego: North Sotho child figures 69
The girl who ran away: Intombi zivemuka and other traditional beaded Zulu dolls 77
Enigma dolls: South Sotho and Zulu figures? 91
Children of earth: Zulu clay dolls 99
Venda and Pedi: Clay initiation figures for the domba and khomba ceremonies 111
"Ku veleka vukosi ...": To bear children is wealth ... Tsonga figures 119
Ntwane gimwane: Ntwane grass figures 131
Nebele umndwana: Ndebele dolls and walls 139
The puzzle of the pendant figures 151
Swazi umntfwana: Swazi evocations of the child 161
Musidzana wa tshirova: The girl who has a medicated rod: Gender ambiguities and the Venda thahu 173
Tonga child figures: The protogenic forms of the Tonga child figures 181
Lenge nwana: Lenge tattooed and scarified figures 187
Mpondo: Did the Mpondo people have dumbbell-shaped dolls? 193
Tswana mgwana ba pelego: Tswana child figures 203
Kwanyama Ovambo: Kwanyama child figures 207
Evocations of the child 219

 

Price: $70.00 plus postage.