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Story
September 29, 1921
Shepherdstown Register
Shepherdstown, Jefferson County, West Virginia
What is this article about?
New York art galleries exhibited African dolls last year, spotlighting a Lake Nyassa tribe's custom of crafting rag or wood effigies of the dead to house their souls in a sacred tent, warding off afterlife fiends; accessible only to medicine men.
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OCR Quality
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Excellent
Full Text
Dolls With African Burial
Art galleries in New York last year exhibited specimens of African doll-makers. Perhaps the most interesting story of dolls in Africa is that which concerns the doll custom of a tribe dwelling near Lake Nyassa. When a member of the tribe dies a rough image of the dead person is made of rags or wood and laid away in a tent. Thousands of doll images of dead tribe members lie in the tent and it is said that the tribe believes that the dolls are the embodiment of the souls of the dead men. By keeping the souls on earth they believe they are cheating the fiends which are supposed to lurk beyond life. The tent is regarded as sacred and only the medicine men are permitted near it.
Art galleries in New York last year exhibited specimens of African doll-makers. Perhaps the most interesting story of dolls in Africa is that which concerns the doll custom of a tribe dwelling near Lake Nyassa. When a member of the tribe dies a rough image of the dead person is made of rags or wood and laid away in a tent. Thousands of doll images of dead tribe members lie in the tent and it is said that the tribe believes that the dolls are the embodiment of the souls of the dead men. By keeping the souls on earth they believe they are cheating the fiends which are supposed to lurk beyond life. The tent is regarded as sacred and only the medicine men are permitted near it.
What sub-type of article is it?
Curiosity
Extraordinary Event
What themes does it cover?
Fate Providence
What keywords are associated?
African Dolls
Burial Custom
Lake Nyassa Tribe
Soul Embodiment
Sacred Tent
Where did it happen?
Near Lake Nyassa
Story Details
Location
Near Lake Nyassa
Story Details
A tribe near Lake Nyassa creates rough doll images of deceased members from rags or wood, placing them in a sacred tent believed to embody the souls of the dead, thereby preventing evil spirits from claiming them; only medicine men may approach the tent.