Fali Doll Northern Cameroon
H: 30 cm (approx. 12'')
Estimated age: first half of the 20th century
Provenance: Austrian private collection
The Fali people are any of several small ethnic groups in Africa living in the mountainous regions of northern Cameroon, northeastern Nigeria, and near Lake Chad. 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 fiancé, 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 firstborn. The young woman cares for the figure until the promised child is born; at this point, the couple carefully stores the doll away. This is a nice example of a Fali doll carved as a zoomorphic figure and richly decorated with textile and metal strings.