Female Ewe Venavi Child Image

Herbert Cole argues that such figures as this, often called dolls, should rightly be called “child images,” as they are not intended for child’s play. Like the Fon and Yoruba to their West, the Ewe people of Togo and Ghana have a cult of twins. The birth of twins in these communities is traditionally seen as both a blessing and a responsibility. Twin births are believed to be the result of spiritual influence. It is proscribed that each child must be dressed the same and fed together so as not to arouse their capricious nature. And because twins were prone to a higher rate of mortality than other births and understood to be psychically forever linked to their surviving twin, special attention was required in the case of the death of one, or both. Such an event required Ewe mothers to acquire a doll in the marketplace (or to have one carved in the home) and to have it consecrated by spiritualist to act as the home of the deceased spirit. Thereafter it would be the duty of the deceased mother or sister or aunt to look after the carved figurine or venavi (literally twin.) The caring of venavis required ritual feeding and washing but varied in terms of the particulars between communities and individuals. This female figure is charmingly expressive, with a symmetrical coiffure and her own carved pedestal. As venavi were lovingly looked after by their owners, they were repaired when broken or damaged. This figure has undergone indigenous repairs; her left arm was reattached in Togo.

7″

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