Items · Clark Atlanta University

Dr. Carter was head of the English department

Oware is reputed to be the oldest game on earth. It is at least 15,000 years old and can be traced back to the Sumerians of ancient Africa. It is one of the oldest sedentary games of Ghana. It is also played in other parts of Africa, but the name varies from country to country.

MS_0002_03_026 African Artifacts Flathead

MS_0002_03_027_AfricanArtifactsFlatface

Figurines with flat face made from wood. If an Akan woman had difficulty conceiving a child, she would be encouraged to visit a local shrine accompained by a senior women in her family. The woman who was having difficulty with conception would be placed on an altar for a period of time, and later reclaimed along with medicines. The sculpture was then carried, fed, bathed, and otherwise cared for by its commissioner as if it were a living baby. Once the woman had conceived and had a successful delivery, she would return the figurine to the Shrine as a form of offering. If the child died, the woman would keep the Akua'ba as a memorial.

Clark Atlanta University Stone Hall

An black and white image of Stone Hall from 1910 located on Clark Atlanta University's campus

Cloth Doll

Doll

I'll Be Back

Wood Sculpture

Christina

Sculpture

Bulrush Fanner

A coiled sweetgrass basket

Pig in a Pen

Quilt

Daywork

Sculpture

MS_0002_03_026Positive Man

MS_0002_03_025 Mwasi Yakumu Iyodade'

In this piece, Allen pays homage to Black women as goddesses in an effort to change the image of how God has been portrayed. The beginning of the name, “Mwasi Ya Kumu,” means Queen in the Lingala language of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. “Iyalodé” is also one of the names of the orisha, Oshun.

MS_0002_03_024 IFE Bronze Heads

Ife is and ancient Yorbua city. These naturalist head sculptures, usually depicting royalty, were cast in zinc-bronze or terracotta, and were most popular between the 13th and 15th centuries A.D.

MS_0002_03_023 Rare Wooden Pickaninny Yoke

These unique irrigation implements were used on plantations and farms in several Southern states including Florida. The watering device helped double the work productivity of children assigned to this particular labor task.

MS_0002_03_022 Traditional Drum

MS_0002_03_0021 Kora

A kora is a 21' string harp that originates among the Mandinka people of West Africa. Customarily, the kora is placed by members of djeli families. Djelis are traditional historians, genealogies and storytellers.

MS_0002_03_0019 Aku'aba/Fertility Dolls

In the Akan tradition, these figurines are created to help women overcome difficulties bearing children. There is some variation in the doll across the different Akan ethnic subgroups, but they all function similarly: A woman requests that a doll be made. The doll is taken to a shrine, where rituals are done, prayers are made and medicines given to the hopeful mother. She then wears the doll on her back and cares for it as she would a real baby, until she conceives and delivers. id her real child dies, the mother keeps the aku'aba as a memorial.