This puppet was used by the Ekon–an Ibibio association of warriors–in humorous performances to entertain and exert social control. The young women is fresh from her stay in the "fattening room." This practice involved seclusion of young women in preparation for marriage, during which time she was well fed to conform to standards of corporeal beauty and instructed on how to fulfill moral expectations for adult women. The practice fell from popularity over the last decades. After the pre-marriage seclusion period, a young women would have been elaborately coiffed and adorned with rich, black line body painting by a female artist before she was presented to the community. The figure represents this practice and is adorned with the same body decoration.