Private Collection
Pomba Cigana Rainha was created as a commissioned gift for a woman who was being Headwashed (the Umbanda / African Diasporic term for an initiation to one’s primary power/deity) to the Gypsy Queen aspect of Pomba Gira.
The client had a very strong and long standing relationship with Cigana Rainha which made creating this doll incredibly simple and a whole lot of fun! Both the client and Cigana Rainha knew exactly what they wanted from the get go and I was just the tool to hook the two of them up!
Pomba’s colors are generally black, red and gold, and Cigana Rainha was no exception. Where most of the path’s of Pomba are traditional Ladies of the Evening, being Romnii Cigana Rainha, has the added elements of dancer and fortune teller, as well as queen. The client saw her very clearly as “the wild dancer by the fire, but also able to command respect as the Queen of the Gypsies”.
She picked out a lovely Esme doll from Robert Tonner with thick curls to frame her face.
Her skirt is three layers: a black flamenco style under skirt with a red ruffle trim and a slit up to “there”, a middle layer with ornate red, black and gold designs swirling all over (made from an old scarf), and a top layer made of gold silk. On top of all of that there is a gold chain and coin belly dance belt.
She wears a barely there top of black and red ruffles, and more coins, that show off her cleavage and slide down to show off her shoulders when she dances.
In here hair she has a headband of gold, black, and red beads and three trembles that shimmer and shake when she moves.
Around her neck are more gold, black, and red beads, this time with ruby red crystal accents, and thick gold hoops in her ears.
Her eyes were repainted with gold and copper, her lips with bright red lipstick, and her nails to match. On her feet she wears red silk dance slippers.
She carries a red silk bag to hold her tarot cards, dice, and her bag of charms. And yes, she has a full, useable deck of doll sized tarot cards.
She stands on a base designed to look like the campfire in my clients vision, soft green grass outside a circle of dirt, at the center of which there stands a log fire (complete with battery operated flames).
Cigana Rainha was displayed for the first time at the client’s Headwash with great joy.
