Talisman made with one’s own hands
Museum staff and schoolteachers help Kyiv children experience unique traditions
There is something truly magical about Ukrainian rag dolls, which are called lialky-motanky, and the process of making them. I became aware of this as soon as I sensed the atmosphere at the Museum of Folk Decorative Art, where a class was being taught. A group of children between the ages of 5 and 15 sat quietly with their grandmothers and mothers and whispered to each other. It has long been known that doing handicrafts, like knitting and embroidering, and other ways of creating useful and beautiful things, helps to balance the nervous system and improve mood. It’s too bad that we are often too lazy to keep our hands busy with such activities.
Apart from the unusually quiet atmosphere in which this work must be done, our ancestors also believed that everything about a rag doll was magic: the color of the threads to its stuffing to its very name. As the word motanka indicates, such a doll is made by a winding technique.
These dolls were traditionally made only with natural materials and without any knots: people were afraid that by tying a knot you “tied your fate.” Scissors were never used to trim the doll’s hands and feet; the threads were just ripped. Inside the doll you could place some grass or herbs, like wild rosemary, which is a symbol of prosperity and good health.
Various kinds of dolls were made centuries ago. People placed grains in them and made them in such a way that water could be poured through them. This is proof that with the aid of these dolls people sought protection from the higher forces or entreated their help. In later centuries, dolls were decorated and given as presents to people to whom one wished well. For example, if you wanted someone to be industrious, you would decorate the doll’s hands.
A rag doll is twisted in an uncomplicated way. You take a bunch of wool threads and place them inside a light fabric (this is the doll’s body), and the top part is wound. The doll’s head and neck are now ready. There is no face, just a cross made out of threads. Then another bunch of threads is added for the hands. This is also cross-shaped and tied, and the doll is almost ready. All it needs is some clothing. Its head must be covered by an ochipok, the cap worn by married Ukrainian women, a shawl, or a garland.
Myroslava Tatarchuk, the museum’s junior research associate, told The Day: “This kind of doll is used as a talisman, so it never has a face. It is believed that this is how the doll can be used to influence its owner. There are also special dolls that are made when a child is born. Here a somewhat different technique is used: the threads are covered with a piece of cloth and wrapped the way a baby is swaddled at birth, and then presented to the family. This doll is the baby’s talisman until it is old enough to get married. Afterward, the doll is handed down to the next generation. It cannot be given as a present to anyone else; if it is, this will have an evil effect on the person’s fate.”
Tatarchuk has talked with old Ukrainian village women who are well-versed in the technique of making motanka dolls. They know many legends and tales about these dolls: according to one legend, a doll helped a man find his way out of an extremely difficult situation; a gang of thieves failed to open a car because there was a doll talisman inside. Even these days, people tend to believe these stories.
Apparently, we have not escaped far from our traditions. They are in us, in our blood. Where do you think the tradition of placing a doll on a car driven by newlyweds comes from? For that reason, it is always better to remember something beautiful and learn about it than to forget it.
