Engagement doll from Ovamboland

Engagement dolls were originally used to propose marriage. The groom made a doll and gave it to the girl he wanted to marry. If she did not return the doll, her answer to the proposal was positive. The doll was also believed to increase fertility. After the marriage ceremonies, the wife carried the doll in a bag on her back until she gave birth to her first child. The doll could also be named after a living person. If someone harmed the doll, it was considered a crime of the same magnitude as harming the doll’s namesake.

VKSLS1094. Kumbukumbu Museum of the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Mission. Photo: Ilari Järvinen, 2020.