The history of wooden toys. Russian folk toy Wooden toys of ancient Rus'

07.03.2020

06.08.2013

The history of children's toys goes back not even hundreds, but thousands of years. In ancient times, children's toys were made mainly from the simplest and most popular materials - wood and clay. Archaeological finds indicate that back in the 9th century, East Slavic tribes made wooden toys (nursery rhymes) not only for the amusement of their children, but also successfully traded them at large bazaars and fairs. Of course, it was impossible to mix and match ancient Slavic figurines like modern Lego sets, but on the territory of the largest trading center of Rus' - Novgorod, which gathered merchants from different countries and continents, wooden Russian nursery rhymes were very popular, not inferior to chests and painted spoons.

The first written mentions of wooden nursery rhymes date back only to the 17th century. From them it is known that the royal offspring bought sweets and toys in the shape of horses and birds at the Trinity-Sergius Monastery. It is interesting that the children of kings and commoners played with nursery rhymes made by craftsmen in the same workshops. The records of palace expenses that have come down to us take into account eighteen toys purchased at auction in Moscow, in the form of horses and cows, deer and rams, swans and ducks, purchased for the children of Peter I.

Even then, the first sets began to appear, albeit not as interesting as a modern Lego store offers, but very reminiscent of today's soldiers.

The most ancient type of wooden Russian toy is called “punk”. They were made by craftsmen in the northern villages of Russia until the beginning of the 20th century. The name comes from the root “pang”, which translates as “trunk”, because the toys were made from a single piece of wood. They strongly resembled the ancient pagan idols that were worshiped by the northern tribes before the advent of Christianity. Punks were made schematically, conveying only the image of a bird, animal or human figure, without drawing small details. They, like Lego sets, awakened the imagination of children, developed their imagination, allowing them to express many different images with the help of one single detail.

Today, simple homemade wooden toys are often used by Waldorf schools, whose correctional and developmental teaching methods are based on the principles of creative knowledge of the world and the development of spirituality.

Why traditional wooden toys are important

All over the world, wooden toys are considered environmentally friendly and safe.

Everyone knows that a tree gives peace. There are even such folk signs - “hold on to a tree in the forest in order to receive strength and a state of calm from it.” A child playing with wooden toys is “recharged” by the warmth of wood.

Wooden toys are very pleasant to the touch, they are smoother and warmer. Accordingly, wooden toys have a very positive effect on the development of fine motor skills and sensory perception of a child.

As a rule, wooden toys are not stuffed with a huge number of functions, which is so typical for modern plastic toys. A wooden toy leaves room for the child’s creativity and imagination. Stimulates the child's active actions and encourages him to explore.

Wooden toys are already the history of our people. Such toys do not allow traditions to disappear. Form involvement in culture.

Wooden toys are more impact resistant than other toys. Some children constantly break their toys. Because wooden toys cannot be easily damaged, they last much longer.

Wooden toys are very beautiful. Most often, wooden toys are made by hand, which means that they can also be considered a work of art!

Great thinkers have long paid attention to children's toys. Aristotle insisted that, in the interests of education, suitable toys should be invented for children, otherwise children would begin to break things in the house. The philosopher Architas became famous for inventing a rattle for children. Lafaret came up with a game of wooden bricks for children's construction projects.

According to Plato, Locke, Froebel and others, children’s favorite toys can serve as the first test for an inquisitive mind and character.

Toys are associated with ancient religious rituals, the personification of the forces of nature in the form of people and animals. Thus, the female figure symbolized Mother Earth-Bereginya, the horse - the sun, the bird - the water and air elements. These three images from ancient times to our time carry precisely this meaning. It is believed that the origin of clay whistles is connected with the rituals of ancient times, when whistling was considered a reliable means of scaring away evil forces.

According to another point of view, children of all times and nations imitate adults in play; their toys are not endowed with a deep mythological meaning and are only a figurative reflection of the life surrounding the child.

The question of the origin of the toy cannot be resolved unambiguously. Most likely, in ancient times both play and cult meanings were closely intertwined, and then religious rituals were forgotten, and the toy remained only an object of entertainment.

But it is no coincidence that man embodied the forces of the elements in the images of living beings that were most familiar and close to him, interpreting them differently: the great goddess of fertility became a lady, a maiden; poultry - duck, chicken, goose; horse - a workhorse pulling a cart or carrying a gentleman. The bear, also a participant in ancient rituals, is a funny, good-natured club-footed animal from a folk tale. Time has changed the conditions of life around us, new themes have penetrated into the work of folk craftsmen, but these images still appear in toys of any craft to this day.

Toys used by the children of the common people are few in Russia. In some areas, children's toys almost did not exist in peasant life. To play, they used wooden painted eggs, spoons, jars, a knife, a nail, stones, and so on. However, from books and from the words of old people, we still know some common folk toys.

“Once upon a time, in the village of Bogorodskoye, there lived a woman who wanted to amuse her children and carved out of wood for them “Auka” - a swaddled baby. The children played with “Auka” and threw it on the stove. One day the woman’s husband began to get ready for the fair. He took “Auka” “And he thinks: I’ll show it to the merchants in the Posad who sell figurines. I took it with me. The merchant liked it. He bought the “Auka” I brought and ordered a few more pieces.”

Wooden carved and colorfully painted horses, bears and birds were traded near the Trinity-Sergius Lavra at the beginning of the 17th century. Toys with movement were known back then. Each master made his own familiar toys. “Skaters” slaughtered people, “animalists” - animals, “bird keepers” - birds. Some cut only “nutcrackers”, “nutcrackers” - wooden, hook-nosed old men with a device for cracking nuts.

Others made so-called “divorces” - they mounted figurines of cows or soldiers on sliding slats. And other masters carved bears shaking their paws. The most skilled carvers could freely carve figures of animals and birds.

Forgotten common toys

CARRACHES, that is, rattles were made from various materials: from wood in the form of a turned ball; on a wooden leg, and peas or small pebbles were placed inside. From birch bark in the form of 6- or 8-gonal boxes; horn from a goat or cow, covered with a bubble with peas inside. The pets' bubbles were washed, a few peas were put in, they were inflated, tied and dried - the rattle was ready. NIGHTINGALE. This is a clay pot, the size of an apple. It has a spout, like a teapot, and several holes, fills with water and, when blown, creates a melody that distracts and amuses the child.

Howlers. They were obtained from acacia fruits and straws. By tightly pulling a wheatgrass leaf, a ribbon, a leaf of birch bark, bark, or stems, you can produce a piercing squeaking sound.

KUBAR. A small wooden ball or cylinder on a short leg, similar to a top, was launched along the floor, ground or ice. When playing, the children whipped him up with a whip and this made him spin endlessly. Sometimes the children argued about who would steal the kubar next or drive it through sand, puddles or mud.

DZYK. They take an ordinary button, insert a thin stick into the hole, one end of which is pointed, and the other is grasped with the fingers and set in motion - a slight buzzing occurs.

FURCHALKA. Take a thin circle or plate of wood, lead, bone; make two holes in the middle and stretch two threads. Having twisted the threads, they begin to quickly pull them with their hands, sometimes tightening them, sometimes loosening them. This causes rapid rotation and a special whirring noise.

RATCHETS. There are two types: a wooden roller with a handle and a ratchet made of 10-15 planks.

The rattle, in addition to entertainment, had a widespread use in protecting orchards from birds, and later as a noise instrument when performing songs.

SAWGER. This is a rather witty toy that resembles a swinging pendulum. It was popular in Tula and Nizhny Novgorod. The sawyer is placed on the edge of the table, and the thread with the stone is lowered down. They give a slight push to his head, and he sways for quite a long time, pulling the thread on the edge of the table.

SOLDIER WITH SABER. A bolster was inserted into the shoulder of the wooden soldier. A wooden saber or chicken feather was attached to the roller. They place it somewhere in the wind, and when it blows, the soldier makes a movement with his saber. Distributed in the Vyatka province.

DANCERS. Two little men are cut out of wood, their arms and legs loosely tied with threads. The dancers are strung on horsehair, which is barely noticeable. When twitching, the dancers move funny, seemingly for no apparent reason.

BLACKSMITHS. Two wooden blocks are placed one on top of the other, and two figures are seated astride them with hammers in their hands, and in the middle is an anvil. Then the bars begin to move in different directions, and the dolls move, creating the effect of working in a forge.

KOZYULKA. A spirally cut part is placed in a wooden box the size of a cigarette case, a needle-sting is attached to it and a thread is attached. The thread is located in a box along a labyrinth of a spiral, and when the player pulls the end that sticks out of the box, a “boiler” with a needle-like sting sticks out.

CHALLENGES. They make two or four wings similar to mill wings. These wings are put on a roller, and the roller is put on a stick and placed against the wind. They spin freely in the wind and bring great pleasure to children.

TSYKALKA. It looks like a modern syringe, only children made it from the hard stem of wild carrot, borax and the like.

They took water into it and rushed it quite far.

CLAY TOYS IN THE FORM OF BREAD. Children's toys in the form of bread were found in old Ryazan. From these toys you can imagine what bread was like at that time. Children playing with clay conveyed the Well-Rise Bread with great realism. The top of the bread is covered with checkerboard slices. Such cuts must have been used to cover “clean bread” for a better taste of the crust and for beauty.

DOLLS. Dolls were quickly improved, from wood to wax, clay and porcelain. They always tried to bring the doll closer to a real female image and even came up with moving arms, legs, and eyes.

Among the Slavs, the doll had a deep meaning - it protected and resembled an idol - Bereginya - a magnificent doll and was placed above the porch, on the windows. Later, fever dolls were popular in Rus'. The housewife always sewed 12 pieces - for 12 months of the year against 12 terrible diseases. She sewed to please the Lichomaniacs, the shakers, that is, she appeased the spirits of various diseases. Each had its own name

Shaking, Ledeya, Puffy, Yellowing, Korkusha, Breast, Ogneya, Glyadeya, Nivea.

The twisted doll was popular among the peasants. Some rag was rolled into a rolling pin, the head was tied with thread, and the top was covered with a shred that replaced the dress. Sometimes they were called "duckweeds".

Each girl knew how to make a haircut doll from straw. A bunch of straw was twisted to form a head. A smaller bundle was inserted between the two bundles and hands were created. They decorated the doll in different ways: they attached a braid, knitted a scarf, and even made dresses from worthless rags.

Very poor children were forced to make dolls even just from logs, wrapping them with something.

In the Moscow province they made dolls from clay and chalk. Children from wealthy families used dolls with porcelain heads. The doll has always helped to develop good, family-moral concepts and rules.

There is such a sign: when children play with dolls a lot and diligently, there will be profit in the family; if you handle toys carelessly, there will be trouble in the house. They believed that the doll guards children's sleep and protects the child, so it is always next to him - both in games and in dreams. Girls were especially encouraged to play with dolls, since the doll was also considered a symbol of procreation. For example, the peoples of Central Asia believed that a doll would bring a good harvest if a girl played with it until marriage.

In a Russian village Ragdoll- the most common toy. She was in every peasant house, and in some families there were up to a hundred dolls.

Children began to twirl rag dolls at the age of five.

Doll - spin

They rolled a piece of colored fabric into a rolling pin, covered the face with a white rag and pulled it down at neck level. Then the side remnants of the fabric were rolled up to form hands - and the doll was ready. Dress up! It must be said that the doll was made with great diligence, since the taste and skill of the owner were judged by it.

The doll was dressed up, but the face was not painted. Such dolls were called "faceless". According to popular beliefs, a doll with a face seemed to acquire a soul and could harm the child. Therefore, the faceless doll was also a talisman.

There used to be a custom: as soon as a woman felt that she was going to have a child, she began to make a twisted rag doll: “First she tied the body, then attached the arms along with the head, and then simply dressed the toy. She worked without a needle: no need for the arms touched the metal. And so the mother builds such a doll and, two weeks before the birth, puts it in the cradle, and they are both already waiting for the baby to appear. And the doll protects the cradle from the evil eye. The baby grows up, plays with his amulet doll. which retains the warmth of her mother’s hands. Having become an adult, the girl herself makes such a talisman doll two weeks before the birth of her baby.”

Making such a spinning doll is not difficult. The peculiarity of the work is that we make a doll without a needle, only twisting, only rags and tying with cotton thread.

Take a small piece of any fabric, approximately 20x20 cm in size. The bottom edge should be bent by 2-3 cm and not twisted very much. We also bend the free edge of the side cut inside out and get only one open cut - at the top. In two places (conditionally on the neck and waist line) we tie the twist with threads. So we came up with the so-called “body”. It must be stable, that is why the hem at the bottom is needed. You can insert a thin cotton rod into the twist of the “body”.

Next we make the head along with the arms. Let's take the same square of fabric, put a piece of cotton wool for the neck, cover it in the center with a piece of cloth, make a ball - the head and tighten the thread tightly along the neck line. Now let's make the hands. Let's adjust the cut and take the excess fabric inside the sleeve, and tie the hands with thread. After we make the arms, we will tighten the remaining fabric at the waist line, while the arms can be given any direction. By the way, at the same time you get a blouse with your hands. The base is ready.

Now the doll can be dressed up. Hair and braids can be made from elastic stocking. We will stretch a thin strip over the doll’s head, cut its end into three ribbons and braid it. To prevent the hairstyle from falling apart, we tie the head with a ribbon. A skirt (one or several) can be cut in the form of a circle - this is a circle skirt; We'll make a small hole in the middle and put it on the doll. To prevent the skirt from standing up like a bell, we will wrap it around the waist with a ribbon-belt. The result was an image of a girl. If you cover the doll with a scarf, you get the image of an older woman.

The beauty of such a doll is that it is made quickly, from the most affordable materials and right during the game. Images and their number can be created right during the game. And if the twist doll is done carefully, it can also serve as a wonderful souvenir.

GRAIN. This doll is simple in appearance, but made with great love and has a deep symbolic meaning. It was usually given as a gift for Kolyada, Christmas and sometimes on holidays associated with the harvest. The doll was necessarily filled with grain, preferably wheat or grain of all sorts at the same time, so that the harvest would be rich in all types of grain crops. In Rus', porridge has long been the main type of food, since grain has a powerful vitality, is easily digestible, and is available for cultivation on the territory of the Slavs. If it is the earth that gives a harvest, it means it will give birth, then the image that gives this harvest is female.

The doll was made from burlap. A small bag was filled with grain, while the women always sang a song or read a prayer. A head without a face was attached to the body-bag, tied with a scarf and a braid-belt (with a magical ornament: water, earth, grain, sun). A grain doll helps a person to believe in a successful year, and faith helps a person to create everything necessary for a miracle life.

RUSSIAN DOLL. The Russian toy, christened matryoshka, born in Sergiev Posad near Moscow, received special fame and love. For residents of many countries, she truly became a “Russian girl,” a symbol of everything Russian. And deservedly so, because with enviable generality and folk humor, cheerful invention and colorful brevity, the master decided on the character of the doll, its clothes and shape.

This happened in a way that often happens in folk art, where a new painting is superimposed on an ancient form and tradition, or a new form is invented, and sometimes a new function. Figurines of this shape have existed in Rus' for a long time. And the detachable wooden toy has been around since ancient times. But there were no nesting dolls a hundred years ago.

Sergiev Posad has always been famous for its toys. They said that Sergius of Radonezh himself cut toys and gave them to children. At the end of the last century, master Vasily Zvezdochkin carved a doll to perfection, dressed her in an apron and sundress, dressed her in a scarf with flowers, and gave her a rooster or handkerchief. And he gave her the most common name -

Matryona. Success came to the girl Matryona in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris.

The oldest detachable toy - the prototype of the Matryoshka doll, which existed in Ancient Rus' - carried a deeper meaning. Some researchers suggest that such a female doll with large offspring is the goddess of life herself, procreation. Others believe that the multi-opening doll indicates that man, like the earth, has seven spheres - seven bodies. And our ancestors had seen these subtle bodies before. And yet, the ancient sages said that seven generations preserve memory and genetic codes. Seven generations from clan to clan depend on each other, which is why they were so careful about all the traditions and laws of the clan.

SWIPPER DOLLS made from whatever was at hand. They swaddled a log, a wooden spoon, and a bundle of straw.

HAIR DOLLS were made from straw.

BABY DOLLS from clean rags so that the child can hug and even kiss her before going to bed.

If you want to always learn about new publications on the site in a timely manner, then subscribe to

This series is dedicated to “handicraftsmen, craftsmen and artists - everyone who has made a toy their work, craft and art - for the joy of children.”

A toy is the world of every person’s childhood. We can say that a traditional toy is the world of the country’s childhood. Along with growing interest in one's own traditions, interest in Russian dolls, wooden and clay toys is also growing. Numerous fairs, salons, and exhibitions are held. True, for now this interest is purely informational. But, perhaps, a toy is one of the few areas where we can preserve not only old models, but also dying traditions.
Today, Russian toys are a rare guest in museum exhibitions. It was made from scrap materials and was not stored for long. Only thanks to collectors and enthusiasts, rare specimens were preserved.

These little witnesses of past eras are now becoming objects of in-depth research, on the one hand, by art historians, on the other, by anthropologists and cultural scientists of all stripes. It is not surprising, since the toy turns out to be closely related to sculpture, painting and decorative arts. It talks about the history of art of past centuries.

On the other hand, being a descendant of archaic traditions and practices, the toy is imbued with symbolism and secret meaning, difficult to understand for a person not privy to the essence of ancient cultural codes. This duality makes it one of a kind. It simply has no analogues anywhere in the world.

The earliest toys discovered in our country date back to the 2nd millennium BC. These are clay rattles, dishes, hatchets, and figurines of people. To attract the spirits of the dead, figurines were made into which they were supposed to inhabit - prototypes of future dolls.

Ancient toys were made from scrap materials by parents for their children. Already in this continuity lies its essence as a conductor of traditional meanings. To create a simple doll, the father or mother spent time free from hard work in the field, and there was very little such time. Therefore, the toy is always characterized by ease of manufacture, economy of material (every scrap was taken care of) and laconicism of techniques passed down by inheritance. The concept of beauty was inseparable from “useful” and “good”. The most benevolent to people is the Sun (bringing light and warmth) - hence the predominance of red on peasant toys and the abundance of the solar (“solar”) sign in the form of a spiral.

The preferred images were horses and birds - the world of ancestors and the world of gods. And the idea of fertility was conveyed through figures of domestic animals and women.
Playing with dolls was not just entertainment for a child, they prepared him for life and work, the development of independence and ingenuity, and passed on traditions and experience. They changed as the child grew, but never changed their essence. For example, rags and tinkling decorated pendants were hung over the baby’s cradle.

They both entertained and protected the child from evil. After all, as the peasants believed, evil spirits were afraid of ringing, noise, sunny flowers and signs. For a one-year-old child, a gurney on a stick was made, the design, shape and decoration of which were archaic. In the pagan culture of pre-Slavic antiquity, small chariots were dedicated to natural deities on which the farmer depended. The gurney of the boy, the future protector, was decorated with a figurine of a horse, and the gurney of the girl, the future successor of the family, was decorated with a bird. When the children grew up, the father hewed a horse out of wood scraps for his son, and a doll for his daughter.

A toy was always made from what was at hand. Remains of a sundress, individual shreds, pieces of wood. And sometimes from straw. Such a haircut doll, only a larger one, was placed between the glass, where on frosty days it reminded of summer and the sun, and also absorbed excess moisture. Children received them only after the “service between the frames.”

In autumn and winter - when there was more time for handicrafts - children's nursery rhymes were made and decorated: rag dolls and clay whistles - the two main types of Russian toys. If we look at it from a material point of view.
Much later, the toy becomes a craft item. “Rhyme poems” were performed by craftsmen for whom production served as a source of livelihood. In a peasant family, in addition to the main pottery craft, they made clay toys for sale.

Gradually, the production of toys expanded beyond the confines of one family or yard. Large fishing centers emerged. Like Sergiev Posad with its wooden products. There is a legend that the first toy was carved here by Sergius of Radonezh himself. And in the 17th century, the city became the largest center for the production of “amusing carts,” horses and birds.

It is interesting to note that until a certain time, peasant and royal children played with the same toys. The toys of Peter I himself, as well as those that were purchased for his children - horses, figurines of cows, deer, roosters and ducks, are close in description to the Sergiev Posad products.
Half a century ago, almost every village family, and sometimes even a city one, played with homemade dolls. But gradually, with the growth of industrial enterprises, plastic toys began to be produced in the millions. The tradition of home dolls is almost “dead”.
Only the rag doll is not outdated. Clay and wooden toys also preserve traditions. But they are no longer perceived as an object of children's fun, but as a national souvenir.

Anastasia Nekrasova

Surely you will be interested and no less curious to know what childhood fun our grandparents had in the old days, and why they never had time to be bored! These toys live to this day, because they are so sweet to the heart and spirit)) Read them.

Surely you will be interested and no less curious to know what childhood fun our grandparents had in the old days, and why they never had time to be bored!

These toys live to this day, because they are so sweet to the heart and spirit)) Read them.

TARAKHTUSHKI, that is, rattles, were made from various materials: from wood in the form of a turned ball; on a wooden leg, and peas or small pebbles were placed inside. From birch bark in the form of 6- or 8-gonal boxes; horn from a goat or cow, covered with a bubble with peas inside. The pets' bubbles were washed, a few peas were put in, they were inflated, tied and dried - the rattle was ready.

NIGHTINGALE. This is a clay pot, the size of an apple. It has a spout, like a teapot, and several holes, fills with water and, when blown, creates a melody that distracts and amuses the child.

Howlers. They were obtained from acacia fruits and straws. By tightly pulling a wheatgrass leaf, a ribbon, a leaf of birch bark, bark, or stems, you can produce a piercing squeaking sound.

KUBAR. A small wooden ball or cylinder on a short leg, similar to a top, was launched along the floor, ground or ice. When playing, the children whipped him up with a whip and this made him spin endlessly. Sometimes the children argued about who would steal the kubar next or drive it through sand, puddles or mud.

DZYK. They take an ordinary button, insert a thin stick into the hole, one end of which is pointed, and the other is grasped with the fingers and set in motion - a slight buzzing occurs.

FURCHALKA. Take a thin circle or plate of wood, lead, bone; make two holes in the middle and stretch two threads. Having twisted the threads, they begin to quickly pull them with their hands, sometimes tightening them, sometimes loosening them. This causes rapid rotation and a special whirring noise.

RATCHETS. There are two types: a wooden roller with a handle and a ratchet made of 10-15 planks.

The rattle, in addition to entertainment, had a widespread use in protecting orchards from birds, and later as a noise instrument when performing songs.

SAWGER. This is a rather witty toy that resembles a swinging pendulum. It was popular in Tula and Nizhny Novgorod. The sawyer is placed on the edge of the table, and the thread with the stone is lowered down. They give a slight push to his head, and he sways for quite a long time, pulling the thread on the edge of the table.

SOLDIER WITH SABER. A bolster was inserted into the shoulder of the wooden soldier. A wooden saber or chicken feather was attached to the roller. They place it somewhere in the wind, and when it blows, the soldier makes a movement with his saber. Distributed in the Vyatka province.

DANCERS. Two little men are cut out of wood, their arms and legs loosely tied with threads. The dancers are strung on horsehair, which is barely noticeable. When twitching, the dancers move funny, seemingly for no apparent reason.
Whistles

BLACKSMITHS. Two wooden blocks are placed one on top of the other, and two figures are seated astride them with hammers in their hands, and in the middle is an anvil. Then the bars begin to move in different directions, and the dolls move, creating the effect of working in a forge.

KOZYULKA. A spirally cut part is placed in a wooden box the size of a cigarette case, a needle-sting is attached to it and a thread is attached. The thread is located in a box along a labyrinth of a spiral, and when the player pulls the end that sticks out of the box, a “boiler” with a needle-like sting sticks out.

CHALLENGES. They make two or four wings similar to mill wings. These wings are put on a roller, and the roller is put on a stick and placed against the wind. They spin freely in the wind and bring great pleasure to children.

TSYKALKA. It looks like a modern syringe, only children made it from the hard stem of wild carrot, borax and the like.

They took water into it and rushed it quite far.

CLAY TOYS IN THE FORM OF BREAD. Children's toys in the form of bread were found in old Ryazan. From these toys you can imagine what bread was like at that time. Children playing with clay conveyed the Well-Rise Bread with great realism. The top of the bread is covered with checkerboard slices. Such cuts must have been used to cover “clean bread” for a better taste of the crust and for beauty.

DOLLS. Dolls quickly improved, from wood to wax, clay and porcelain. They always tried to bring the doll closer to a real female image and even came up with moving arms, legs, and eyes.

Among the Slavs, the doll had a deep meaning - it protected and resembled the idol - Bereginya - a magnificent doll and was placed above the porch, on the windows. Later, fever dolls were popular in Russia. The housewife always sewed 12 pieces - for 12 months of the year against 12 terrible diseases. She sewed to please the Lichomaniacs, the shakers, that is, she appeased the spirits of various diseases. Each had its own name

Shaking, Ledeya, Puffy, Yellowing, Korkusha, Breast, Ogneya, Glyadeya, Nivea.

Very poor children were forced to make dolls even just from logs, wrapping them with something.

In the Russian village, a rag doll is the most common toy. She was in every peasant house, and in some families there were up to a hundred dolls.

Children began to twirl rag dolls at the age of five.

Doll - spin

Making such a spinning doll is not difficult. The peculiarity of the work is that we make a doll without a needle, only twisting, only rags and tying with cotton thread.

GRAIN. This doll is simple in appearance, but made with great love and has a deep symbolic meaning. It was usually given as a gift for Kolyada, Christmas and sometimes on holidays associated with the harvest. The doll was necessarily filled with grain, preferably wheat or grain of all sorts at the same time, so that the harvest would be rich in all types of grain crops. In Rus', porridge has long been the main type of food, since grain has a powerful vitality, is easily digestible, and is available for cultivation on the territory of the Slavs. If it is the earth that gives a harvest, it means it will give birth, then the image that gives this harvest is female.

RUSSIAN DOLL. The Russian toy, christened matryoshka, born in Sergiev Posad near Moscow, received special fame and love. For residents of many countries, she truly became a “Russian girl,” a symbol of everything Russian. And deservedly so, because with enviable generality and folk humor, cheerful invention and colorful brevity, the master decided on the character of the doll, its clothes and shape.

Matryona. Success came to the girl Matryona in 1900 at the World Exhibition in Paris.

SWINDOW DOLLS were made from whatever was available. They swaddled a log, a wooden spoon, and a bundle of straw.

HAIRDOLL DOLLS were made from straw.

BABY DOLLS made from clean rags, so that a child can hug and even kiss her before going to bed.

Children have had toys since time immemorial. True, these toys were very different from those that modern kids play with. However, it is possible that modern children, spoiled by gadgets, would with great pleasure pick up a shuffler or a rag picker.

Archaeologists date the earliest toys discovered on the territory of modern Russia to the 2nd century BC. These were rattles, figurines of people, hatchets made of clay. Wooden toys - nursery rhymes - appeared in Rus' in the 9th century. In ancient times, toys were made for children by parents themselves from scrap materials. Therefore, ancient toys are characterized by laconic techniques and ease of manufacture.

Eco-friendly toys for babies

According to pediatricians, newborns definitely need toys because they help develop sensorimotor coordination. Now you can buy any options, from ordinary rattles to complex hanging structures. Our ancestors did not lag behind in this and made toys for newborns with their own hands. From the first days, the baby received nursery rhymes - that’s what toys were called in ancient times.

For very small children they made sharkunks, that is, rattles. They were made from dried poppy seed pods and from scraps of fabric with bells sewn on. There were also rattles made of birch bark, which were filled with seeds or small pebbles, and therefore had a pleasant sound to the baby’s ears.

Older children played with rattles made from the bladders of cows, sheep and other domestic animals. To do this, the bubble was thoroughly washed, cleaned of fat using ash, then a little dried peas were placed in it and inflated through an ordinary straw.

All children's nursery rhymes were made from natural materials - these were fir cones, wood, straw, clay. To hang a cradle in Rus', bells, rattles, various rattles, and bright rags were used. All this was called trinkets. By the way, the parents did this not only to teach the baby to concentrate his gaze or move his fingers: they believed that the trinkets would protect the child from damage and evil spirits.

Toys for developing a child's abilities

The baby was growing up, he needed toys that could shape his motor skills and thinking. Today there are a lot of products of various materials, painted in bright, attractive colors. In ancient times, these objects were made of wood, but the meaning was exactly the same as today. The pyramid had to be assembled, the cubes had to be arranged in a certain way, and the rings had to be placed on a stick.

During the Soviet era, the “Anvil” toy was very popular - a bear and a blacksmith sat on the ends of a log and used a hammer to move the base. This funny fun also came from Ancient Rus'.

There were twitchers, that is, dolls with body parts connected by threads. They moved funny and were a great example of a dynamic toy.

The most popular object of active children's games was a ball. Historians found mention of it in ancient chronicles of the 10th century. They made balls from rags: the fabric frame was stuffed with scraps. Sometimes birch bast was used for production; it could also be linden or willow. These balls were heavier because their insides were generously filled with fine sand. There were balls that were lying around from the remnants of sheep wool. And the boys and girls enjoyed shooting with a bow, which was made from an elastic tree branch and an ordinary rope or ox sinew.

Toys for training to work

In the old days, peasant children began to work very early on an equal basis with adults. This was also reflected in toys: for boys, carts and bodies, whips, horse harnesses and even toy carpentry tools were made from birch bark. As for the girls, they were given toy wooden dishes, furniture, spinning wheels and spindles. Unlike nursery rhymes for very young children, such “labor” toys were very simple, not ornate. Apparently, so that the child can feel that life is work.

Of course, children's wealth did not consist only of toy objects of labor. There were other fun things, for example, dolls. Often called “doodles,” these simple wooden dolls were made by fathers or grandfathers for their children. The simplicity of the dummy opened up scope for the child’s imagination, making it possible to endow it with different features and use it for improvisation.

Dolls: toys and amulets at the same time

Many dolls were intended not only for play - they were symbols and amulets. For example, krupenichki, that is, simple dolls made from a rag bag with grain poured into it. Such toys were beautifully decorated and were considered very important. They were kept, displayed in a prominent place in the house, and children played with them carefully. The grains were filled with selected grains (buckwheat, oats). Such a doll was a symbol of prosperity, wealth, prosperity and satiety. Today they are classified as souvenirs and given as gifts for a wedding or family celebration.

Reels and thread dolls were extremely popular. They were made by both adults and children; they were used to calm, amuse or lull the baby. They were also considered amulets that protected against illness, the evil eye and damage. The Slavs believed that every motanka doll contained the spirit of an ancestor. It was often passed down from generation to generation so that the threads connecting the family would not be broken.

Another doll, a haircut, was made from dry straw, bast, and twigs. There are even representatives of these dolls in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg. Sometimes healing and fragrant herbs were woven into them; it was a kind of aromatherapy. The doll dressed in a beautiful sundress, scarf, and blouse. The bottom was not braided, but unraveled, representing a kind of skirt. If you put a haircut on a flat surface and hit it with your fist, it will dance - it will spin and twirl, which is why they are often called dancing dolls.

The rag picker is a doll with female shapes

One of the most common dolls was the rag picker. She did not have a face, but her female breasts were emphasized, which personified the cult of fertility. For beauty, the rag-maker was dressed in clothes that were worn in the region where she was made. The doll's dress was sewn once, and she wore it without taking it off throughout her doll's life. Girls decorated clothes with beads, braid, and embroidery, thereby honing their skills.

These toys were so common that even the poor could see a dozen funny rag pickers in their huts. Later, when dolls began to be made in factories, and expensive porcelain was used for heads, rag pickers gradually began to fade into the background. But even in those families where they could afford to buy an expensive doll, traditional folk dolls were used, and more expensive toys were given to children on holidays.

Modern Kids toys have a long history. The most ancient of them are dolls. In primitive society, animal bones and household items were used for games. The toy itself dates back 3,500 years. It was found in southern Bulgaria and represents the head of a stork on a tripod made of bronze with the addition of silver.

The materials for making trinkets were usually:

Stone, wood

Slavic toys

The very first dolls were made from grass and were more of a representation than a toy. They were used in the rituals of many peoples. The Slavs had common so-called bereginiya dolls. They had no face and were made from grass, hay or scraps of fabric.

Beregini were decorated with bells that rang and their sound drove away evil spirits. Such dolls were supposed to protect the peace of children, ward off illness and attract goodness to the family. There are many versions of where the name bereginya came from.

However, there were no sources of writing at that time and there is no reliable information. The Slavs called Bereginya the great goddess who gave birth to all living things. She was considered the supreme patron of the human race. Perhaps the dolls served as a smaller copy of her.

At the end of the 17th century, miniature cannons, soldiers, and war horses were already made from metals. The development of the toy industry was facilitated by trade with other countries and cities.

It is unknown who and when made the first toy. Scientists are still finding different burials of children with different rattles. The variety of shapes and images is impressive. In most cases, dolls were primarily amulets.

Secondly, the children's toy business brought good profits. In Ancient Egypt and Ancient India, noble persons were often buried with toys. Thus, figurines of cats in Egypt personified the goddess of the night and the moon, serving the underworld Bastet. Cat figurines were amulets against evil forces.

The stork on a tripod, found in Bulgaria, is also considered a possible god, a symbol of fertility and a protector of the family. The story of toys reflects the history of the development of mankind and its crafts. They were given mysterious properties, and they often came to life in folk tales.

Masters of all centuries have strived to make dolls more human-like. In Africa and some European countries they were used in rituals of human hypnosis, sacrifice and healing.

Read, comment, share the article with friends.

See you again on the pages.