Doll (mwana hiti)
MediumWood with beads and rope
Dimensions4 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches (11.4 x 3.8 cm)
CultureZaramo (Tanzania)
ClassificationsSculpture
Credit LineGift of William W. Brill
Terms
- Tanzania
- Sculpture
- wood with beads and rope
- Dolls
- Zaramo
Object number88.026.016
Label CopyBRIEF DESCRIPTION
This is a carved wooden figure from the Zaramo culture in Tanzania.
WHERE WAS IT MADE?
The Zaramo live in Tanzania.
HOW WAS IT MADE?
This figure was hand carved from a single piece of wood with tools such as an adze, knives, and chisels.
HOW WAS IT USED?
Young Zaramo women undergo an initiation seclusion during which time they receive a mwana hiti, “wooden child.” While secluded, the initiate cares for the doll as though it were a real child. When re-entering society, the young woman performs a dance with the doll.
If a young married woman has difficulty conceiving a child, she will wear the mwana hiti on her back like a surrogate child, hidden from public view, until she conceives.
WHY DOES IT LOOK LIKE THIS?
Notice the double-wedge coiffure; this hairstyle is an ideal old-fashioned type and no longer worn by Zaramo women, although it is a typical feature of mwana hiti. The owner of the doll might attach her own hair through holes in these wedges.
The mwana hiti represents both sexes; its overall form is phallic, yet its decorations of beads, shells, or bits of fabric are female.
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