Akua 'ba figure

The name akua ‘ba (literally, Akua’s child) derives from an Akan legend about a woman named Akua who struggled with infertility. To address her condition, she consulted a priest who advised her to commission the carving of a small wooden child and care for it as she would a living baby, including nursing it and putting it to bed. Despite facing public ridicule with members of her community mockingly calling the figure “akua ‘ba,” her care and dedication to the figure led to a successful pregnancy and the birth of her daughter, which inspired other women to craft similar figurines. Along with conception, akua ‘maa (plural) may be prescribed to prevent complications during pregnancy and childbirth and to avert disease so that the mother and child remain healthy.

The style of this example relates to akua ‘maa carved among the Asante, the ruling confederacy of the Akan. Distinctive features include an elongated forehead on a round head; thin nose; sweeping, arched eyebrows; small, pursed lips; a ringed neck; and large eyes that are identified by narrow slits that slightly protrude from the surface. These features emphasize the feminine ideal for which physical and moral beauty were closely intertwined. For example, wisdom is emphasized through the elongated forehead, and wealth and nourishment depicted through the ringed neck of a well-fed individual. Women would give their akua ‘maa these characteristics in the hope that their daughter would inherit them.

This figure has etched markings on its cheeks resembling Akan cicatrization patterns with three horizontal lines on the proper right cheek and one horizontal line on the proper left. That patterning is applied to address and treat convulsions. However, outside of specific medicinal purposes, the Asante do not practice facial cicatrization. The figure also has a band running horizontally along the back of its head with a repeated triangle pattern. Triangles are often found on akua ‘maa as they are considered a female symbol.

Many akua ‘maa might feature additional adornments in the forms of applied beadwork and other attachments. This example features a string of red beads framing the lower third of the back of the head, as well as a series of minute holes extending around the remainder of the head through which additional beads would have been strung. The elaboration of this figure with small holes filled with beads relates to akua ‘maa that are created in the late 1930s and early 1940s. That embellishment further enhanced the figure’s beauty and may also have been added to augment its power in realizing the owner’s dreams for a child.

Prior to the late twentieth century, akua ‘maa were one of the most personal items and the kind of beads used to adorn them could help indicate the owner’s religious affiliation, taste, and wealth. The specific use of red may have been a personal choice by the owner, or they could have been used due to red’s symbolic association with women through Asase Ya, the goddess of the earth and fertility, who has the power to bring life and wealth, as well as cause suffering in the pursuit of it. Red is also associated with blood and life and therefore reproduction among Akan herbalists, which is why red clay is used for treatments regarding fertility.