Instead of modern toys, rag dolls were created earlier with their own hands. Motanka is a special doll. With its help, they protected the house, happiness, harvest, wealth, fertility, childbirth. Such amulet dolls were treated with caution, since the wrong symbol could harm a person, and in evil hands it was a powerful weapon against the enemy.
How was a motanka doll made before?
The amulet is the main role of these dolls. They were first found in Ukraine, and then in Mordovia, and in Russia, and in Uzbekistan ... The same features for all dolls were as follows:
- they were made without a needle and scissors;
- the outfits were festive;
- the dolls were faceless;
- each amulet had a sign on his face.
All these features of making dolls have an explanation. The peoples believed that all sharp objects attracted evil spirits, and if you make a talisman with a needle and scissors, then you can open the way to the soul to unclean forces.
Therefore, both the doll and the clothes were made without needles and scissors, from small rags. For holiday dresses, beautiful shreds were previously taken. This is now needlewomen embroider clothes with all kinds of patterns, before when they were decorated, the needle was not used.
The face could also become a “portal” for evil spirits, therefore, all the peoples of the dolls instead of the face wrapped a string of amulets. More often it was a square symbol of multi-colored threads or a bandage on the forehead.
Agricultural rites
The main hope and goal of the Slavic peoples was fertility. He was associated not only with a good crop in the fields, but also with an increase in the number of livestock and childbirth. That is why they made original dolls out of ears. Motanka contributed to the harvest. For this, two bundles of straw were taken: the first was bent in half and a third was bandaged to form a neck and a head. The second bundle was inserted between the halves of the first and again bandaged. The result is an image of a doll.
It was important to use the straw, which symbolized wealth and harvest. Towards the end of winter, they made a special doll - Shrovetide, but they did it like a motanka without sharp-pricking tools, using all the fertility symbols (straw, birch branches, red ribbons).
The difference between Maslenitsa and motanka was only in the time of their manufacture. The first doll was made only on Shrovetide, the second - at any time. The first amulet was usually burned at the stake as the main element of the ceremony, and motanks were often stored and inherited.
In what other rites does the motanka doll participate?
Also, a motanka doll was made to procreate, to protect the home, to preserve happy and peaceful relations in the family. Each target had its own sign and color. For example, to protect the house from evil spirits, blue and cyan were used, and to reproduce the genus, red gamma was used.
The newlyweds and childless couples were presented with a motanka doll made of cloth with a baby or a small doll representing the child. In all cases, female amulets were made. Only to strengthen family relations, the newlyweds were given paired dolls denoting a husband and wife.
Unlike home Shrovetide, motanka were immediately removed from prying eyes in chests. They could not be thrown out even through generations, since they were considered the guardians of the family hearth. At the birth of the child, other motanka dolls were made.
When feeding the baby, a crumb of bread was wrapped in a rag; a brighter charm was placed in the cradle to remove spoilage or the evil eye. During the illness, they made a motanka, which would take the ailment with them. The dolls that took the evil eye, the disease, were not kept in the house, they were burned or buried in the ground.
How to make a motanka doll to protect your home?
Take a piece of cloth and roll it tight into a tube, then fold it several times to create a rectangular base for the head. Put this rectangle in a white flap and tie it with threads - you get a head with a neck. Then with the help of threads you wind (do not embroider!) The cross with yellow, blue and blue threads. First, do one vertical wrapping with one color, then horizontal, then do the same with other threads on each side of the resulting strip. Hide all the bumps on the inside.
After that, do the torso. From the fabric, roll up two tubes: a short one for the arms and a long one for the torso. You bend the long one in half, twist it a little with woolen threads, then insert the tube between the halves across, and then twist the threads to the end of the body. Do the same with your hands.
Now take your head, in the neck area wrap a few centimeters with these same threads. With the help of flaps, you “stick” the head on the body and wrap it tightly with thread. Next, dress up a doll in a shirt, a skirt, an apron, which you make from rags of blue and blue shades. At the last stage, put a bead and a scarf on the doll.
Motanka as a gift to the newlyweds
Now consider how to make wedding dolls with your own hands. Motanka in this situation will be "bisexual", that is, we will make both a man and a woman. They can be made separately according to the same technology as in the first case. And you can make it whole to emphasize peace and harmony in a relationship.
To do this, we roll up a long tube, which we bind on both sides with threads. It will be the hands of two dolls. Next, make a tube of fabric according to the height of the bride. Tie with threads first in the area of the head, then drag the "arms" through the halves and wind the coils around the "chest". To make your head rounder, put a piece of padding polyester in the middle of the tube.
On the groom's side, tie a striped flat cloth on the tube, the halves of which are spread apart. It will be pants. On top, make the head and torso of a short tube in the same way as for the bride. Then you put a shirt, skirts, an apron, a scarf on the bride, and a shirt, belt, hat, boots on the bridegroom (wrap over a striped cloth with a black cloth and tie them up with threads).
Motanka with a child
In order for the family to have many children, there should be a motanka doll in the house. The master class on its manufacture is quite simple.
- The basis of the doll is made from rag tubes according to the above technology.
- Put on the bottom long plain petticoat on the doll, and on top of it - a bright short skirt. Put on a simple shirt upstairs.
- Be sure the doll needs to make a large breast, which meant both childbirth and feeding. To do this, from small bright flaps, make balls that are tied with thread. Then they are tied over a skirt over a shirt.
- Tie your head with a handkerchief.
- From other flaps make a baby or several babies. Wrap them in a blanket on top. Attach them to a motanka and tie them with a red ribbon. You can tie her hands that hug the children.
To preserve the idyll in the family, you can make parents with their children. That is, make wedding dolls-motanka (see the photo of the “groom” and “bride” above), and place “children” near them or tie them to the mother.
Brief conclusions
Earlier, ancient peoples motanks were made exclusively as a talisman - to protect the home, family relationships, to give birth to children, from the evil eye, etc. They made them without needles and scissors: they torn the fabric on the rags with their hands, and the symbols were wound with threads. The dolls were faceless, in their place was a protective symbol. A certain color was present in them: blue - protection from unclean spirits, red - for wealth and posterity.
Currently, you can make such souvenir dolls with your own hands. A motanka will be more accurate and elegant if the clothes are embroidered with a pattern, and the head is decorated with real braids made of linen or thread. Such a doll can be not only a talisman, but also a great toy for children.