WS126
This is a very nice Cameroon ham pilu fertility doll. The central hardwood shaft is carved in an anthropomorphized phallic form and covered with colorful glass trade beads and old coins. The wood is lightly battered, chipped and scratched with a beautiful, rich patina. All of the threads and yarns are of hand spun or hand twisted cotton or plant fiber. The body is wrapped with offerings of strung glass trade beads, mostly red and yellow in color.
Beaded appendages represent arms and legs and the "head" of the figure has hand-twisted human hair. The appendages are attached through perforated holes in the wooden body of the doll. They mostly consist of molded, twisted and tile glass beads in cobalt blue, light blue, orange, light red, white and pumpkin orange. The upper appendages are enhanced with pierced coins of British West Africa origin. One is dated 1943 and the other 1944. The coins appear to be made from aluminum and indicate that they are one tenth of a penny and carry the words "GEORGVS VI REX ET IND:IMP. The lower appendages include a thick rusted steel washer and a pierced Queen Elizabeth one-cent piece. The coin is thin and badly worn and appears to be of copper. This is a relatively large fetish that stands 9 3/4 inches (20.5 cm) tall and the diameter of the wooden base is 1 1/2 inches (3cm).
Ham pilus are carved and constructed by Fali grooms for their fiancees as a commitment to their marriage and as a fetish for producing their first child. Young Fali women traditionally carried their dolls with them until their newborn arrived at which point the ham pilu was put away or possibly sold. See eBay Sales.
