African Folklore Ndebele Dolls
Doll making is one of the most ancient arts practiced by African communities.
The Ndebele tribe are the most well known for this art form. The Zulu women also
produce beautiful dolls.
Most of the fertility dolls are covered in beads, but the core remains
invisible. The core may be made out of cobs from corn-on-the-cob, clay or even
recycled cans and jars.
The Tsonga dolls are dressed in layered cloth skirts similar to those worn by
the Tsonga women. All dolls generally represent married women wearing
traditional forms of dress.
These Ndebele Dolls make beautiful gifts!
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Ndebele Initiation Doll
This doll is made in the traditional dress of a married woman.
The style of the apron signifies that she has borne a child within
wedlock and symbolizes her status as a parent.
Size: 10" tall
$32 |
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Ndebele Fertility Doll
Fertility is of major importance to the Ndebele people. A fertility doll is
made (in secret) for the bride by the maternal grandmother and is ritually
presented to her when she enters her new hut after the wedding ceremony.
According to custom, after the birth of the third child, the fertility doll
must be given away or destroyed because it is considered unlucky to keep it
any longer.
Size: 6" tall
$30 |
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Ndebele Maiden Doll
The style of the apron on this doll signifies that the girl has undergone
her puberty rites and is now of marriageable age.
A beaded black hoop around the waist indicates that she is engaged to be
married.
Size: 10" tall
$42 |
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Ndebele Sangoma Doll
Among the Nguni people the Sangoma is an important specialist, a diviner who
claims contact with ancestral spirits.
It is believed that she receives the will of the spirits. The Sangoma is
referred to as the protector of society and her opinion and judgment are
highly valued.
Size: 7.5" tall
$28 |
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Ndebele Ceremonial Doll
During courtship, a suitor would place a doll outside a young woman’s hut
indicating his intention to propose marriage to her.
Size: 10" tall
$28 |
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Ndebele Bridal Doll
This doll is in the traditional dress of an Ndebele bride. The panels of her
apron are symbolic of the deposit of five heads of cattle toward the lobola
(bride price).
She wears a beaded train (inyoga), which hangs from her shoulders. Her face
is covered by a beaded veil called a siyaya.
Size: 15" tall
$75 |
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Ndebele Linga Kobe Doll
Every four years, hundreds of Ndebele boys spend two winter months in a
secret place in the mountains undergoing the wela, their initiation from
boyhood to manhood.
During this time the mothers of the initiates wear linga kobe, strips of
beadwork that stretch from their headdresses to the ground, to show that
their sons are away in the mountains.
Linga koba translated means ‘long tears’—tears of sadness at losing a boy
and tears of joy at gaining a man.
Size: 15" tall
$90 |
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