Fertility

An Akan story tells us that many years ago there lived a woman named Akura who was trying to have a baby. When she did not become pregnant, she asked a carver to make a wooden doll, which she carried on her back like a baby. Soon, Akura became pregnant.

According to the story, many women followed her example. If an Akan woman could not have a child, she would consult a priest. He might advise her to have an Akuaba carved, to treat it like her own child, and to decorate it with precious beads in order to help her get pregnant.