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| Abron Akua'ba figure, Ghana wood, pigment 9" tall early to mid 20th century ex private U.S. collection $650 The Abron or Bono are an Akan people of West Africa which produce similar figures to the Fante and Asante people which are commonly referred to as akua'ba figures. The Abron and Fante people make figures with more square or rectangular shaped heads as opposed to the Asante who generally make figures with rounded heads. This is a nice older example of this type of figure from the Abron people. "The legend of the origination of the Akua'ba dfigure comes from the story of a woman named "Akua" (many variations of the name are found as there are many variations of the spelling of "akua'ba") who could not get pregnant and went to a local diviner or priest and commissioned the carving of a small wooden doll. She carried and cared for the doll as if it were her own child, feeding it, bathing it and so on. Soon the people in the village started calling it "Akua" "ba" - meaning "Akua's child", since "ba" meant child. She soon became pregnant and her daughter grew up with the doll/figure." |
