Rare and/or out
of print Southern African Tribal Art Books
Evocations of
the Child
Fertility
Figures of the Southern African
Region
Conceived By: Karel Nel - Nessa Leibhammer - Elizabeth Dell
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
and
through 