ekidet (Fertility Figure)
About this object
History of use
Tag says: ‘Turkana doum palm doll’. Made of doum plam nuts (emol), with pendants made of animal vertebra. Aprons of young girls (arach; made of ostrich eggshells) are represented by white beads. The fertility figures are called ekidet, and were meant to represent the future first born baby of a Turkana girl.
Narrative
Collected by the donor while living in Nairobi.
Physical description
Made out of nuts in three parts covered with nine dangling strands of bone, possibly that of vertebrae, that have a conical bone at each end. The top is covered with strands of hide. There is a piece of hide underneath the bone strands, which are also decorated with a white, red, and white bead at the top and middle.
