To have many happy and healthy children is the dearest wish of the young Asante girl. This desire encompasses the world of ritual magic and art when symbolized by the Akua'ba, the most widely known of African fertility dolls. In this particular doll, the state of encouraging conception is taken to the next step of producing the ideal mother image. The young woman proudly holds her full, elongated breasts as if to show she is ready to feed many newborns. Her extenuated stomach suggests she has already conceived and is waiting for the birth. A string of attractive beads around her waist adds a colorful dimension, and also symbolizes wealth. Her nakedness is made more pronounced by the realism of the figure, with its well-formed legs, arms and hands, and sandals on the feet. The artists of Ahwia, the principle Asante carving village, produce figures that represent the mature female. Abstraction is here blended with realism in a potent combination of forces that are at once beautiful and mysterious.