Fertility doll "mwana hiti" · Tanzania, Zaramo · ID: 3037432
sold
EUR 200
Provenance
Fred Jahn, Munich, GermanyChristian Franke, Stuttgart, Germany
Brigitte & Wolfgang Bofinger, Stuttgart, Germany
Size
H: 10 cm
H: 3.9 inch
Description
wood, brown patina, of typical abstract form with “split” coiffure, adorned with several strings of miniature glass beads, min. dam., small missing parts;
Zaramo female initiates keep such figures during their period of seclusion and coming out ceremonies. After the ceremony the young women wear the “mwana hiti” around the neck or hold it in their hands. The doll is a kind of substitute child, until the woman will have a “real” one.