She is a dolly !
<br><br><br>
And she has powers...
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Her function would have been as a gift to a newlywed couple, to assist in their
fertility and in the success of having a child.
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;According to Ashanti legend a young woman named Akua was having difficulty
conceiving a child (ba). She consulted a local priest who told her she should commission a wood-carving
of a little child. She was to treat the carving as if it were her own living baby: to wash, feed and
carry it on her back tucked into her wrapper with just the head appearing. Having followed these
instructions perfectly Akua eventually gave birth to a healthy and beautiful baby. 
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Young Ashanti girls have done the same for generations, carrying dolls such as
our Chocolate Deity with pride in order to induce pregnancy, ensure a safe delivery, and a beautiful
healthy infant. To Western eyes the doll is highly abstract, but to an Asante girl it is a model of
feminine grace and elegance, embodying the Ashanti idea of beauty with cocoa bean shaped eyes, a disk
shaped head and rings of fat around the neck indicating a prosperous and healthy condition.  Chocolate
is a known aphrodisiac–imagine the strength of the prayer and wish that would come with a night of
lovemaking after a luscious ingestion of this magical substance shaped as an Akuaba.  
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The seed is already planted.
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"Megye wo awo dom" 
<br><br><br>
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;("I wish you many children")