Those faceless motanka dolls are spooky.

[Davey944676]

Right up there with scary clowns, for me!

They are an old tradition in various Slavic countries, but I'll mention it here because it was a Ukrainian-based thing where I first heard about them...

"...Motanka dolls (Polish motanka, Ukrainian мо́танка, from motać/мотати - to tangle/spool/wind) are a type of traditional amulet dolls made in Poland, Ukraine and Belarus. They were a part of folk culture and its magical beliefs, made and tied without the use of a needle or other sharp objects, to "not poke/hurt the fate" and traditionally had no facial features, sometimes with a cross instead. Motanka dolls were made with specific intentions and wishes/tasks for them to grant, of various sorts, such as guarding the family or a prosperous marriage. Nowadays motanka dolls are coming back to popularity as a part of interest in Slavic cultures of the past, often as an educational device during educational and ethnographic workshops, or as a work of folk artists..."

And the dark tale of Vasilisa the Beautiful...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasilisa_the_Beautiful

[johnw]

Kind of scary puppets, yes.
At least it's a happy ending for Василиса!
Childhood remembrances of fairytales... I always admired that beautiful name. All Василисы must be georgeous and lovely beauties!

[HeyMarlana]

I love this topic!

Motanka comes from the Ukrainian verb to wrap/wind, which is exactly how these dolls are made. (I make them myself.)
Some from my collection:

There is no face because according to lore, if you put a face on a doll, it can embody a soul. If it embodies a soul, it can take on the bad—not only the good—of the person. Since everyone has their good/bad moments and traits, the doll is supposed to be free of influence.

Most dolls are used for good. They are not aligned with the folk dolls in something like Voodoo where inflicting a curse or pain onto someone is believed to happen if the doll is inflicted first. For this reason, it's against tradition to cut or pierce the doll even during its creation. Doing so is believed to "cut" the intention or establish the opposite effect of what the doll is meant for. The doll is entirely made with wrapping and knotting to keep the materials in place.

Motanky (plural) use various colours and materials to represent what it's trying to influence. For example, green signifies nature and good health, since people were their own pharmacists once up on a time and used plants for healing. Reds and blacks were protection against harm. Even certain symbols embroidered onto the doll's garments meant something, the same symbols that are used on pysanky. Even other materials such as shells, coins, beads, etc. were used to decorate the doll for more influence on its intention.

Today when people make the dolls, it's encouraged to make it out of entirely natural materials so that when it does eventually break down and go back to the earth, that it will not harm the environment. A lot of pagan/Slavic customs today rely on this as one of the main ideas is to not harm the environment. Dolls made from cottons, linens, or anything else plant-based makes the doll more authentic.

I'm not a spiritual person at all. But I love tradition! I've given a few of my dolls away to friends and family as a gift, focusing on their needs at the time. One of them was to my mom, who was suffering from nightmares. I made one with black, blue, and white colours (all for protection and peace), and hid an amethyst stone in the lining of the doll's dress. I told her to set the doll near her bedside, but near a corner if possible, looking out toward the rest of the room. The doll is supposed to call on [our] ancestors to guide the doll's intention (without embodying their souls!) so that its only purpose is to send well-wishes to the intended.

You might wonder: "Did it work?" Yes and no. Mom likely had a sense of mind of matter, knowing the doll was there. Her mind assumed the protection was there, and just before falling asleep, looked for it and her brain did the rest. But over time she stopped looking at it, and I she told me her nightmares were acting up again. Psychology might play a part here. They can work if we think they work. If she's forgotten that the doll is sitting there, can we blame the doll for not working?

[Explorer]

I love these threads! Can you actually buy the dolls, or do you have to make them yourself? Or are they something you only get as a gift?

[Linda7Italian]

I rather like the one on the right who hasn't quite decided about her face yet. I wonder what she's thinking.

Beautiful earthy colours too.

[HeyMarlana]

@Explorer, anyone can make a doll. There are in-person classes and YouTube videos that show how to make them. A person can make them for themselves and/or give them away. Or even sell them. There are some amazing motanka artists out there, some of whom are professionals. On Instagram, one user is Yana Dereza who has the handle "motankadolls".
To find out how to make them, this is my favourite YouTube video, and I modeled after this person on how to make mine. Cool music too:

@Linda7Italian, the one on the right was one of my first dolls. I made it with a cotton-lacing/ribbon for the face, and I positioned it in such a way where the eyelets in the lacing could look like eyes and a mouth. I guess it's sort of cheating. Here is a better look at the face:

[Linda7Italian]

Fascinating and very beautiful! Now I see the detail. I really admire you for creating these little ladies.

[Davey944676]

A tiny little moment in that dollmaking video just gave me an envious insight into the artistic mind - the moment when she picked up a bunch of thread and briefly and instinctively held it next to the doll to see if the colour "went" with the colours already applied, even though she must have already had a fair idea that that was the colour she was going to use.

[HeyMarlana]

@Davey944676, are you talking about the ribbon she was going to use as a belt at the 11:28 mark?

[HeyMarlana]

Another type of symbol or ritual decoration in Ukrainian culture is the didukh (дідух / дідуг).

They [are usually] made from wheat, and either tied together in a bouquet, or tied in such a way to look like the figure of a human or some other object like a tree or wreath. When they are made with the wheat stalks splayed, they can be propped up and stand on their own. Just like the motanky, some people make elaborate designs and make a living out of creating them and selling them.

My Ukrainian teacher is a Christian and I asked to do a lesson on things in regard to pre-Christian/Judeo times, which aligns with the Slavic native faith and practices. Even though she's religious, she was quite interested in relaying what she knew. She told me that even though it's a Slavic pagan practice, the didukh were displayed in her church. It has evolved to become more of a Christian symbol, when in fact, its origins are pre-Christian. It seems that traditions run deep, and even through the spread of Christianity, Ukrainians make no apology for maintaining pre-Christian traditions like the motanky and didukh. She told me the one in her church was to represent "the son of God" for protection, when the original meaning was definitely for protection, much like how a father or older relatives protected a home in long-ago times. (Note: Didukh in Ukrainian means "Grandfather Spirit", and represents the ancestors.) Back in the day, they were burned shortly after the winter solstice after their "job was done" by protecting the home during the darkest days of the year.

I personally don't make these or own any, but here they are:

[Davey944676]

@Davey944676, are you talking about the ribbon she was going to use as a belt at the 11:28 mark?

No, earlier, at around the 3:30 mark, when she was still working on the head She picks up a little bunch of red thread and holds it to the face.