A small carved wooden figure from Ghana. According to the British Museum, a woman who hoped to conceive received one from a priest or herbalist and carried it on her back, as a mother carries a baby.
Record, Folk and Modern are kept apart, and each one carries its source.
The British Museum holds an akua’ba, numbered Af1940,01.1: a small figure carved in wood, with glass beads.
To verify: The date and the materials, as the British Museum record gives them
The museum’s record says that a woman who hoped to conceive received such a figure from a priest or a herbalist, and carried it on her back as a mother carries a baby.
To verify: The museum’s own words, and the community it names
An akua’ba is a ritual object. If we ever offer one, it will be an art replica, clearly labelled as a replica. A wish for a child is a tender one: we tell the custom and make no promise.
