Doll (mwana hiti)

MediumWood

DimensionsHeight: 5 inches (12.7 cm)

CultureZaramo (Tanzania)

ClassificationsSculpture

Credit LineGift of William W. Brill

Terms

Tanzania
Sculpture
Wood
Dolls
Zaramo

Object number90.016.048

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 difficult 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.

Collections

Africa