Rag dolls
Original bookmarks in the form of dolls made by the traditional Russian method of sewing rag-dolls. They exude kindness and are very folksy.
About dolls in the Russian traditions
In the Old Rus peasantry whose whole life was inextricably connected with nature, worshipped the sky, sun, wind, thunderstorms with lightnings, water, fire, forest and trees. Their ageless heathen rites, rituals and cults were so deeply engrained in a folk life that they entered the Christian canon to create the highly original culture of Russia. Thus the Orthodox Church wedding is followed by sprinkling newly-weds with grain and flowers, and a blessing with an icon is accompanied by the presentation of bread and salt as a symbol of the grace of the earth and mercy of the sun, while gifts of towels epitomized a happy married life.
The traditional Russian life and culture has retained a special attitude to dolls that were held to be intermediaries in one’s communion with supreme forces. Doll-like effigies that were given as offerings to different deities were adopted for the traditional celebrations of Christian holidays: for example, the doll of Maslenitsa was burnt down during the Pancake Week before Lent; Likhomanka (Herod’s sister) effigies went into bonfires on Annunciation; the Yarila (god of the elements) effigy was drowned during All Saints’ Week (at that time also the effigy of Kostroma – symbolism unclear --was buried).
Every family in a countryside kept some mascot dolls (called Bereginia, Kuvadki, Krupenichka, Kubyshka-travnitsa, Pelenashka, Koza, Tolstushka-Kostromushka and many others) designed to ward off evil spirits, protect from quarrels and illnesses and bring peace and prosperity to the family. Depending on their designation the dolls were assigned different places in the house – in the red corner of a house, near a stove, over a doorway, in an infant’s cradle, on a window sill; some of them were supposed to be kept in a big coffer to be passed from generation to generation.
In the making of mascot dolls women followed special rules connected with beliefs that evil spirits could penetrate inside dolls through their eyes and inhabit them; for this reason doll faces of the dolls were not to be represented. Nor was it allowed to use sharp tools in making then, so pieces of cloth were torn by hand and component parts were attached by winding thread or tying knots. They frequently used shreds of cloth from clothes that had served the family for a long time. A doll was supposed to be made at the right time and with good intentions thus giving the family a sensation of peace, confidence and security. Toy dolls were made for children by adults, but as a little girl was growing up she would learn the skill of making mascot dolls and later mastered needlework and would sew dolls with drawn or embroidered faces in beautiful dresses that fully conformed to the traditions of a Russian costume. In her doll each girl sought to display all her accomplishments and skills of needlework, embroidery and weaving, as well as dress-making, carefully choosing and sewing beautiful costumes. People would call this kind of rag toys “brag dolls”.