Queen of Africa - Nneka Review

Nneka

Queens of Africa dolls are a Nigerian alternative to Barbie. They were developed by Taofick Okoya "to show African children that black is beautiful by enabling them to play with dolls that reflect their culture and heritage." They are available for purchase in the US at the Slice by Cake website.

I chose Nneka, because of her beautiful red outfit and her braided hair. She represents the Igbo tribe. (There are two other queens, Azeezah of the Hausa tribe and Wuraola of the Yoruba tribe.) Nigeria is on the west coast of Africa (Atlantic Ocean side), and is about twice the size of California.

in the box

Nneka is packaged in a pink box with some of her accessories on display. Here is everything in the box. I was surprised that she has a stand and a formal gown! She wears her traditional Nigerian outfit, red high heels, and has a pink hairbrush, gold crown, red purse and pink swimsuit. 

more than shown on the box!

Africa is the most diverse continent in the world. This style of headdress is unique to Nigeria, called a gele. Ladies will use a stiffer fabric to stand it up. There are different ways to tie it, but I will probably not alter this one for fear of messing it up. Her hair is braided into many small braids that are not tied and are loose about half way down.

 

Nneka wears a loose blouse (buba) and a wrap-around skirt (ibo). They have a simple design that  would be possible to recreate, if you can find some wonderful patterned fabrics.  Nneka's buba is a bit challenging to get over her head. There is no velcro or clasps on the outfit at all.

 

Underneath, Nneka has panties made from a flimsy fabric. I suppose they were added for modesty, but they shredded when I removed them. (You can see how they are getting stuck in the hip joint.) This seems like it would make play frustrating. 

 

Nneka naked revealed some oddities. She appears to have a twist-and-turn Barbie-style body, but the waist articulation is at an angle and has been fixed so it doesn't turn. Nneka has click knees which bend about this much.

 I compared Nneka to a Barbie fashionista (articulated) and Jasmine (on a twist-and-turn body). Nneka's head is slightly larger than the other dolls, particularly her forehead. Her body proportions look identical to Jasmine's at first.

Sideways, I found another surprise- Nneka doesn't have much padding in the seating department! In fact, her front and back seem the same.

Other body flaws are noticeable along the seams, especially at the hands and feet. They would been easy to remove. I will likely re-body Nneka, so I'm not concerned. 

Her formal gown is lovely, matched with her "Queen of Love" sash, matching purse, shoes and crown. These seem like a lot of fun to play with.
Nneka's swimsuit is hot pink. It has an unflattering cut.

 

Nneka's sash makes me think she won a beauty pageant, but the script tells us that love is more valuable than beauty.

 

I love Nneka's face. She has almond eyes, light brown with a darker brown outline. The artwork is more Disney than Mattel, with solid white scleras and black outlines. She has simple eyebrows and eyelashes. Her lips are pink with a slight smile that is warm and kind. Her hair is rooted in a way that leaves a lot of bald spots, but only when flipped up. Otherwise, it's well-covered and natural flowing. 

 Nneka also comes with a comic book about school girls who are inspired by the Queens. They are now outselling Barbie in Nigeria (read more at the Daily Mail.) For me, this was a pricey purchase, especially given the quality problems. I doubt I'll complete the trio anytime soon. But I am happy with my doll, especially her wonderful clothes. I deeply admire the company and their values. I hope the Queens of Africa will continue to have much success.