CULTURE

In many of Viatka region's households, small manufactures helped to contribute to subsistance. For an instance, the harmonicas that were produced in the villages Istobenskoye and Khlynovka in various price-classes were famous all over Russia.

Today, the toys from Dymkovo are probably even more famous. They are alway found among the souvenirs that the tourist quickly buys as a symbol of a original, colorful poetry at Sheremetyevo airport before leaving Russia. The home of these clay toys is the Dymkovo sloboda of old, a small town on the bank of the Viatka river across from Kirov.


Clay toy from Dymkovo
These toys were once produced by the women and children during the autumn and winter months. The clay from which they were made was found nearby. At first, the clay figures were formed and burnt in large batches of 3,000 to 4,000 pieces. Then, they were cleaned and painted. A woman with 2 children was able to complete as many as 100-200 figures and 100-200 clay-pipes in one day of work. During the summer, the figures and pipes were sold at country fairs. Among others, the traditional figures from Dymkovo include the colorfully dressed maiden and animal-figures such as the three-headed hourse. The origin of the figures themselves probably lies in the region's pre-Christian religions: the healthy and vital female figure can be connected to the goddess of the hearth Roshaniza; the three-headed horse can be read as a symbol for Yarila the sun-god. Over time, the mythological background of these figure was lost and they became "toys". Yet these "toys" are (and were) hardly ever played with.

Marion Krause

Traditional figures from Dymkovo