The Makonde are almost the only ethnicity in East Africa to create fairly naturalistic sculptures – primarily maternity figures, which are intended to ensure the fertility of the fields and women. According to Makonde legend, the first man on earth fell asleep after sculpting a female figure out of wood. He awoke to find the statue had become a real woman who was eager to mate with him. The result was many children, and the woman herself became the ancestress of the Makonde. This accounts for the predominance of female representations in their art.