Three dolls "ham pilu" · Cameroon, Fali · ID: 3050042
Starting price
EUR 800
Estimated price
EUR 1,200
Provenance
Bernd Muhlack, Kiel, Germany (1995)Size
H: ca. 24 cm (each)
H: ca. 9.4 inch (each)
Description
wood, miniature glass beads, cowries, coins, leather, cord material, each mounted on base
There are still leather straps (cords) on the dolls with which they were tied on the back and carried around, either as toys or as fertility dolls of marriageable girls or women who remained childless.
J.P. Lebeuf reports that a young man must worship a doll “ham pilu” to the girl of his choice, which has the gender that the couple’s future child should have.
Comparing literature
Bofinger, Brigitte & Wolfgang, Puppen aus Afrika, Stuttgart 2006, p. 56 ff.