FALI RITUAL DOLLS, Cameroon

The Fali dolls below have been vetted as being authentic.

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FALI Doll 11 9" high $350

FALI Doll 15 9" high $500

FALI Doll 17 9" high $500

FALI Doll 19 10.5" high $500

FALI Doll 21 10.5" high $400

FALI Doll 22 9" high $500

FALI Doll 23 7.5" high $400

FALI Doll 25 10.5" high $500

FALI Doll 26 9" high $400

FALI Doll 1 9" high $350

FALI Doll 7 8.5" high $400

In addition to the rich display of beads, many of these dolls are adorned with cowrie shells, seed pods and coins from the 30's - 50's from British West Africa, the Confederation of Nigeria, French Equatorial Africa and possibly other colonies. The coins are very difficult to read without cleaning them and it is usually only possible to see one side.

In Cameroon, when a young Fali man becomes betrothed, he makes a doll (ham pilu) from wood and decorates it with hair, beads, and other small objects. He then gives it to his fiancee, who wears it in a baby carrier on her back. The doll is a symbol of their marriage commitment and represents their future child. The man gives the doll the gender that he desires for his first-born. The young woman cares for the figure until the promised child is born; at this point, the couple carefully stores the doll away. ---From ISN'T S/HE A DOLL, PLAY AND RITUAL IN AFRICAN SCULPTURE (1996) by Elisabeth Cameron