Doll-motanka

A mediator between generations

Ancient Ukrainians believed that it was the motanka that mediated between generations, both those who had already passed away and those who had not yet been born. Ukrainians believed that by making a motanka, they could ask the Higher Powers for rain, a good day, or good news. Motanka also saved from diseases. According to numerous beliefs, a sick person was given a specially made motanka doll. After the illness passed, the doll was burned, believing that it had taken on all the negative energy. Quite often dolls were made for numerous rituals, with all the objects or things that a person wanted to get rid of woven into them. Such dolls were drowned in water or burned at the stake.

But the main purpose of a motanka doll is to be a talisman of the home and family. A traditional motanka doll has no face. It was believed that if you gave the doll's face human features, an evil soul could enter it. Instead of human features, a cross was made on the doll's face, a symbol of the Sun, life, and new beginnings, which is identified with the same person, the harmony of his or her physical and spiritual worlds.

The doll should stand in a prominent place

If you have bought or made a doll, think in advance about the place you will give it. If the doll is designed to promote love harmony, it should be in the bedroom, if it is a doll for prosperity and social success, it should be in the living room or office. A doll that protects the hearth and family comfort should be placed in the place where family members most often gather together. The doll should never be hung by its head. It is best to put it on a stand so that it can look around the room.

When you bring the doll into the house and put it in the place intended for it, you can “tell” it why it came to you. You shouldn't swear or have a fight in the presence of a guardian doll. And you shouldn't give the doll you bought for your home to other people. Harmony can leave your home with it.

A tribute to traditions

The rag doll has long been a talisman of our people. The tradition of making rag dolls dates back to paganism. The doll is an intermediary between the living and those who are already or not yet in this world. It was made to make it rain or, conversely, to stop raining. Or to take away a disease from a person. Depending on the event, different dolls were made. If it was for marriage, the dolls were made very carefully. The doll was dressed in Ukrainian costume as a bride, a large wreath or crown was placed on her head, and a bridegroom was always paired with a bride. When a girl got married, the husband's family was allowed to play with the doll until the newly-weds had children, and the more children there were, the faster and healthier they would be. And when children were born, the doll was given to them, of course. There was a belief that if children played with a motanka doll for a long time, the family would soon be expecting a new addition.

Motanka is made exclusively by winding, it has no face and carries the warmth of human hands, love and care with which it was created. It is symbolic that a motanka doll is not sewn, but is made only with threads, ribbons, and by winding. The needle should be used only for making clothes for the doll, and in no case should anything be sewn to the doll itself! It can be woven from straw or without the use of thread at all, when all the knots are fixed architectonically due to the material from which the rag doll is made. The head is called a "kukla". For this purpose, a piece of fabric is folded narrowly (like a belt or edge), and then rolled up and wrapped with fabric.

It is no accident that a motanka doll has no face. It was created not as a toy but as a sacred thing. It was supposed to call the spirit of a deceased or unborn person to the living, to invite them to the family circle, to the table, or to the child they were raising. Our ancestors believed that a doll with certain distinct facial features, such as eyes or mouth, could bind the soul of the person playing with it, which could lead to undesirable consequences. In order for a rag doll to become a real amulet, you need to make a cross on its face. The cross has a symbolic meaning, as it is a sign of the sun, a sign of the spiritual unity of heaven and earth, of the masculine and feminine. That is why such dolls are also amulets for families, as they promote harmony in the family, understanding between a man and a woman. In addition, one can imagine anything behind such a cross-shaped face. Also, wheat grains were often tied in the head of the motanka. This also gave it a sacred meaning, because grain is associated with dead or unborn souls. When it is "buried," it comes to life, germinates, and begins the eternal cycle again.