Akua ba functioned as amulets when carried or placed in a shrine, bringing the wearer/worshiper fertility and protection. This figure wears a beaded necklace resembling the jewelry worn by mothers as protective amulets and passed to children at birth. The black beads absorb bad energies and akua ba were often dressed with them and other sacred adornments.After giving birth the mother might return the akuaba to a house of worship, give it to the child as a toy, or gift it to another family member seeking a child of their own.Segy, Ladislas. “The Ashanti Akua’ba Statues as Archetype, and the Egyptian Ankh: A Theory of Morphological Assumptions.” Anthropos, vol. 58, no. 5/6, 1963, pp. 839–67. Retrieved from Scribd, https://www.scribd.com/document/252254828/The-Ashanti-Akua-Ba-Statues-as-Archetype-And-the-Egyptian-Ankh.