Living along the Gulf of Guinea and in adjacent inland areas (southern Ghana), the Fanti, an Akan group have distinctive arts belonging to their military companies, Asafo. The Fanti are one of the peoples generally thought to not possess a masquerading tradition. The Fanti use acua’ba dolls, which differ from those of the Ashanti, their northern neighbors. As this is a matrilineal society, the acua’ba are female. They are used as fertility figurines in shrines or worn by women either to induce conception or, during pregnancy, to assure the birth of a beautiful child, preferably, a daughter.
The acua’ba is fed, carried and bathed as if it were a living baby. If the woman has a successful delivery, the figure is returned to the shrine as a form of offering. If the child dies, the acua’ba is kept as a memorial. Usually the Fanti dolls do not have any arms and legs. They mostly appear with rectangular or elongated heads.
Provenance: Raskin Private Collection
