These dolls may look hideous to many in this day and age because they do not fit the standards of what a doll should look like.
Unlike Barbie dolls which were created for children to play with, Akua ba dolls were created for a very different and deeper reason.
Centuries ago in one of the Akan folk tales, there was a woman named Akua who struggled with infertility and longed for a child.
She went to see a priest who asked her to get a doll carved for her and to carry at her back like a real child.
She obeyed and got a doll carved according to the Akan beauty standards.
In Akan culture, necklines, are usually a symbol of beauty, people who have lines on their necks are considered beautiful.
The plump calves and fat rolls on the body are considered good living.
The flat head was to make it easier to carry the doll at the back like how mothers carry their babies on their backs.
The marks on the cheeks symbolize how convulsions were treated back in the day by marking the cheeks.
Akua having carved the doll to her Satisfaction started carrying the doll around like a real child and became a laughing stock.
People called the doll ‘Akua ba’ meaning Akua’s child and it soon became the name of the doll.
When Akua finally had a child, the baby had the necklines and other beautiful features of the doll.
This made many women adopt this practice so they would be able to conceive and have beautiful daughters like the Akua ba doll.
From then on the dolls became a symbol of fertility and childbirth especially of female children.
In evolving times Akua ba dolls may have lost their meaning and what they actually stood for, but the dolls in the past were not a representation of evil but of good luck and pride of womanhood.