Copy of doll, made of baked mud with bead eyes and human hair, in blue woven dress, used in stillbirth ceremony, from Gambia, West African, 1930-1950
This doll is made of baked mud with textiles and human hair. It is a replica of one made in a Gambian Village for women who had had stillbirths. The doll is treated as a live child. It is baptised on the eighth day, when a feast is held. In many West African medical traditions, stillbirth is attributed to evil forces or spirits. It requires a range of healing practices, some dating back thousands of years.
The doll was donated by Sister Mary M Larrett to the Wellcome collections. She was employed at the West African Council for Medical Research Laboratories at Bathurst, Gambia, and later at Lagos in Nigeria.
Details
- Category:
- Ethnography and Folk Medicine
- Collection:
- Sir Henry Wellcome's Museum Collection
- Object Number:
- A652416
- Materials:
- complete, earthenware (baked mud), textile, hair and glass
- Measurements:
-
overall: 197 mm x 63 mm x 80 mm, .913kg
- type:
- human remains and doll
- credit:
- Wellcome Trust
