The akua ba doll of the Ashanti people of Ghana have a positive influence : they are carried by expectant mothers in the belief that if they only look upon objects of beauty, their child will be beautiful too. The dolls have long necks and round, faces expressing the Ashanti ideal of beauty. Many African sculptures or dolls are shaped like infants, with large heads and short legs, because newborns are believed to be spiritually close to ancestors.