Naija Princess Aisha

 Part of the line of 11-1/2 inch dolls created by Taofick Okoya, Aisha is a Naija (Nigerian) Princess of Africa.

As shown above, three dolls are illustrated on the back of Aisha's box:  Temilola, Aisha, and Chinyere.  The back of box describes the Naija Princess dolls as follows:

Naija Princess
Is a Nigerian doll of colour which has been created to fill the void of coloured dolls in the local market and in Africa.  The dolls come with Nigerian names from the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria.  Our culture and tradition are from our [decendants] of Kings and Queens.  Every little girl dreams of [be] a princess and Naija Princess is here to make each and every little girl's dream a reality.

Details about Nigeria, from the back of Aisha's box, read as follows:

Nigeria
The largest and the most populated Black country in Africa and in the world is situated at the tail end of the West African sector of the great Black continent.  On gaining her independence from Britain on October 1, 1960, Nigeria has been a fast and dynamic country.

Rich in history and culture, Nigerian women are renowned worldwide for their unique dress sense.  There are over 200 ethnic groups currently living in harmony making up the country called Nigeria.  There are, however, 3 major tribes and languages, namely, IBO, HAUSA and YORUBA,which these dolls represent.

The Ibo Princess, CHINYERE, from the rich dense rain forests of the East; the Hausa Princess, AISHA, from the ancient palaces and kingdoms of Northern part of the country, and from the cocoa-growing, rich sun-kissed waters and beaches of the South West comes the Yoruba Princess, TEMILOLA.

Each tribe has a distinct style from each other from the traditional dress to the head ties and hairstyles.

Side panel of Aisha's box illustrates the doll wearing her extra yellow and white fashion.  Chinyere is illustrated below Aisha.

Aisha has microbraids and brown painted eyes.  She wears an orange and yellow print dress, yellow earrings and has a separately packaged pair of yellow pumps.  Also separately packaged is the yellow and white gingham wrap skirt with matching head wrap, and white star-print blouse as worn by the doll on the back and side panel of the box.

Temilola is shown on the opposite side panel of Aisha's box.

Naija Princess Aisha and Queens of Africa Nneka have different head sculpts.

The Princess of Africa dolls use a different head sculpt than the Queens of Africa dolls, as illustrated in the side-by-side photos of Aisha and Nneka, above.  Both doll lines are without articulation.

Aisha was purchased from American-based seller, Slice by Cake Boutique.  At the time of this writing, very few dolls remain in stock.  Those interested in purchasing, however, should bookmark the website and/or email Slice by Cake Boutique to check on future availability.

 dbg