By Firmain Eric Mbadinga
Black dolls that speak African languages are a rarity anywhere in the world and it's what Ayabavi Atohoun hopes will give her dolls the edge over major Western labels.
These dolls, created by her France-based company Beautiful Darkness, are meant to foster black children have a sense of pride in their African heritage and to celebrate their beauty.
They align to a growing global need for the appreciation of the black identity including the physical features of wide noses, curly hair and full lips.
Atohoun is a trained telecommunications engineer from Benin. She said her ambition was to change the image of black people, whose representation in dolls she does not fully appreciate.
"The brand was created out of personal frustration when I wanted to buy a black doll for one of my nieces. The doll, which I thought was really beautiful, was only available in the United States and at a high price. I realized that I didn't have a choice, or that the little choice I did have came with a hefty price tag," she tells TRT Afrika.
Most of the dolls in Ayabavi's collections are named after illustrious figures from African history and culture.
Beautiful Darkness officially started production in 2019 with its first series of several models of black dolls that were warmly welcomed in the market.
After an encouraging feedback from both social and financial perspectives, a year later Ayabavi Atohoun and her team conceived the idea of creating black dolls that speak African languages.
"We began with seven African languages and now we have 15, in addition to French, English, Creole and Martinique," Atohoun tells TRTAfrika.
The African languages include Bambara, Fongbé, Lingala, Mina, Mooré, Wolof, Yoruba, and Swahili. The dolls also speak Fang, Peulh, Baoulé, Malinké, Sango, Dioula, and Douala.
The dolls can speak out up to 80 sentences that are built from a base of almost 400 words. And the phrases uttered by the dolls affirm the child's self-esteem and self-confidence.
" I personally edited the sentences I wanted the dolls to say. These phrases are empowering because they create the adult of tomorrow through the child of today. The dolls can say: I am beautiful like you, I am intelligent like you, I am a brave and courageous woman. They can also sing nursery rhymes," explains Atohoun.
The new challenge facing Ayabavi Atohoun today is the need to reinvent herself for a highly demanding clientele.
''Parents shouldn't think that it was just a fad because, with the Black Lives Matter movement, everyone was interested in the black cause. But we were there long before that.
"So, I'm trying to do everything I can to show parents that it's not just a fad, but a normal habit to buy their child a black doll," the 28-year-old entrepreneur says.
Beautifull Darkness' primary market is currently the African diaspora, with a growing base in France, the United States and in Benin, where Atohoun has already opened her first shop.
She is working on opening additional shops in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, and many other African countries. This is in order to participate in her own way in the promotion of African culture and identity.
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