The Magic of Dolls
 
The above dolls (left) are Turkana dolls made out of dried mud with cloth clothing and one holding a baby, once again suggesting fertility, (right) two Turkana wood dolls dressed in leather and the traditional beads, the later are used primarily in play and are now made for tourist trade in Kenya.
Zaramo, Tanzania
Tanzania has a wide range of uses and beliefs for dolls, which are used in Puberty initiation rites for boys and girls, wedding ceremonies, rituals following the birth of the first child, society initiation rites, magical and religious rites. The best known are the Zaramo dolls used in play and magic.Young puberty age girls are secluded and during this time attend to their doll upon return from seclusion she is ready for marriage and a ceremony and dance are performed.
In the initiation ceremonies of young girls entering maturity and the coming of age, the responsibilities of being a wife and mother are taught with the use of dolls. The Venda have a custom where the grandmother teaches the maiden the ways of marriage through the use of a doll, then once the couple are married the marriage can only be truly consummated by the husband paying the grandmother the price of a cow and she will teach him the powers of the doll, once he has learnt these ways of the doll and can repeat them correctly to his wife then only can she accept his sexual advances.
Amongst the Sotho tribes of Lesotho the eligible young woman looking for a marriage partner is given a small beaded doll (shown in the figure below) to wear around her neck as a sign of availability.
Sotho, Lesotho
Tsonga, South Africa
Fertility is the essence of life in the cycle that links man to nature, therefore fertility dolls play an important role in the life of the African village.
Tribes however far apart with significantly different customs and beliefs are tied by the common link of fertility and it's great importance in their lives.
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