photos by Jean D. Lotz

African doll with Indian influences

African doll with East Indian influences This doll seems to have a lot of East Indian influences. The 1st owner was a missionary in Africa and she collected a lot of regional souvenirs.  This doll looks like it represents an Indian woman - perhaps someone who had immigrated to Northern Africa. The facial features and hair style is appropriate for India, but the clothes are not typical of neither Africa nor India.  The doll dealer had a similar doll from this same collection that was dressed in a silk sari!

Attye fettish photo thanks to Elizabeth Bennett Africa Direct

Attye fettish I have to research this one. Can you sare some information about this figure? Please contact Jean Lotz.

Southern Africa / Cape Provinces: Xhosa (Khosa / Nguni) People

The “x” in Xhosa language represents a "click sound" followed by a breath like the letter “h”, so the name is often pronounced and written “Khosa”. Xhosa is in the Nguni family of languages. The Nguni languages are a form of Bantu but they use click sounds as consonants. As a result, I have noticed where the Xhosa people are sometimes labeled as Nguni. They are also closely associated with their neighbors, the Zulu tribe.

The Xhosa were part of the Bantu migration from central Africa to South Africa. They were greatly influenced by and often intermarried some of the people that they met during this long migration. The Xhosa were herders and farmers. But today they are involved in a many different activities. In the 1950’s they were described (see below) to be migrant workers in South African cities who kept completely to themselves only wanting to earn enough money to return to their rural roots.

The Xhosa are noted for their colorful dress. They have been nicknamed "The Red Blanket People".
 

Xhosa (Khosa) Woman doll "the red blanket people" photos thanks to John Fox

Xhosa (Khosa) Woman doll from Cape Province (Transkei) in South Africa John Fox describes this doll: “Khosa Woman doll stands about 12" tall, & is carved from one piece of wood, except her arms. She is from the "red blanket people". She was bought from Kimport Dolls Independence, MO.” Was she truly from the “red blanket people” and made by the Xhosa? Or could it have been made to be a “South African souvenir doll” made by anyone in this area portraying one of the many colorful cultures in the region, “the red blanket people”? View a detail photo of her necklaces and arm band.

Southern Africa / Cape Provinces:  Zulu People
 

~ need a photo ~

Wooden Pendant Doll There is a photo of a wooden pendant doll shown in illustration #155 of the book ISN'T S/HE A DOLL-PLAY AND RITUAL IN AFRICAN SCULPTURE by Cameron, published by the Fowler Museum-UCLA. It shows a very special doll with jointed knees with braided cord threaded through a hole in the top of the wooden head that looks long enough to hang this doll from around a person's neck like a pendant necklace.  This item is so much different than any of the other Zulu examples shown in this book that the editors must have questioned whether this was actually a Zulu item since it is labeled "Zulu peoples(?)".

Miscellaneous Dolls from Kenya:
 

click image for full view 12" wood and bottle cap doll from Kenya photo thanks to G.F. Glaeve Glaeve Gallery

Bottle Top Doll from Kenya (unknown people) As you can see from other examples on this page, the African people were very creative in the variety of found objects that they used for embellishment for their figures: goat hooves, bells, beads, coins, stones, glass, grass, metal, leather, and etc. This artist realized the decorative effect that could be acheived from an easily overlooked, and often discarded item - bottle caps!  This unusual doll has strong ethnic features and is dressed entirely in metal bottle caps.