African Figures / Dolls in General

Many African tribes are known for their masterful carvings. Tribes and carving families developed their particular styles in many forms of sculpture: masks, canes / staffs, archetectural carvings, decorative carvings, rattles, puppets, figures, fetishes and dolls. Although most carving and art training was passed down from family members, on occasion a man wanting more training could apprentice himself to a well respected carver outside of his tribe. Great African carvers achieved acclaim for their abilities and were a source of pride for their communities.

African figures like Japanese ninygo are very doll-like in function but so much more! Many of us will be looking at these figures with western eyes attuned to western taste in beauty. What we miss is the cultural, emotional, spiritual importance of these figures. Many African figures/dolls can be best described as an effigy since they are being used as a "ceremonial or spiritual human substitute", or an ancestor figure. Some are considered "fetishes" which are objects that are instilled with very potent power through some ritualistic act. Westerners generally incorrectly group and label all of these dolls as "voodoo dolls".

Yes, some African figures are made specifically as children's toys, but even when African dolls are being cuddled and cared for like a "western doll", they often have greater spiritual meaning since they may represent deceased babies, or babies yet to be born. For example: Yoruba - Ere Ibeji Dolls are memorial figures that were carved upon the death of one or both twins in a land where the infant death rate is heartbreakingly high. These figures are kept, "fed", washed, clothed and cared for by the mother as if they were still living. This was done to ward off misfortune for the surviving children and to provide some comfort to the grieving mother.

To further explain the impact of some of these dolls, let me tell you a hypothetical story about two "engagement dolls":
 

For more information about African people:

• People of Africa by the University of Iowa

For more information about African art and dolls:

Books: (Note: those books with links are available via the Lotz/Amazon.com Bookstore)

• "AFRICAN TRIBAL IMAGES" by William Fagg
• "PRIMITIVE ART - IT'S TRADITIONS AND STYLES" by Paul S. Wingert
• "ART OF THE WORLD - Africa" by Elsy Leuziner
• Isn't S/He a Doll : Play and Ritual in African Sculpture (Hardcover)(Paperback) by Elisabeth Lynn Cameron, Doran H. Ross
• African Dolls: For Play and for Magic/ Poupees Africaines - Esther A. Dagan (Paperback)
• Jouets des enfants Afrique by Delaroziere and Massal.

Non-commercial sites:

• [ Tribal Arts Main Page ] [ Tribal Arts Letter Board  ] [ Tribal Arts FAQ ]
• AFRICAN ART FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN MUSEUM OF ART
• The Stanley Collection of African Art at the University of Iowa Museum of Art

contains over 500 objects from across Sub-Saharan Africa
• Les jeux fertiles-Poupées d'Afrique noire - Dolls from Black Africa (in French) - a summary of a special exhibit of African dolls held by The University of Lausanne, Switzerland with the Roman Museum of Lausanne, Switzerland on December 14, 1999 to February 27. The dolls in this exhibit are grouped by function: dolls - toys, the dolls of initiation, the dolls of engagement, the dolls of fertility, memorial dolls - "home of heart". While these pages are in French, most web browsers allow you to translate each page automatically. But keep in mind that translated words will often seem odd and out of context. For example: the word "poupées" should be "dolls" but it is translated "headstocks" instead.


Commercial sites:

• Africa Direct

I need help on this research project! How can you help?

The problem with any web page which relies on photographs of artwork is finding collectors willing to share their treasures with the world. I need supporting photographs and welcome more information about African wood dolls. Many of these figures do not fit the western stereotype for the term "doll" so I especially want collectors of African art to re-evaluate their figures and ask "Could it be a doll?". How does this figure function in the society?

Many thanks to the following very sharing collectors:

Elizabeth Bennett - Africa Direct
G.F. Glaeve - The Glaeve Gallery and The Wood Carver's Gallery
The Sherwood Collection

Sound Advice:

The following is a quote from Border Meijer that I found posted on the Tribal Arts Letter Board. Border has kindly permitted me to re-post it here.