Kinnala Dolls- looks like dolls with life

Kranataka is always known for its handicraft. Different kinds of crafts are practiced in different parts of the state. Karnataka being always has its own heritage of wooden crafts. The wooden craft practiced in coastal part of Karnataka  is unique. Similarly the wooden toys, Channapattana dolls  are world famous for its cuteness and attractive colors.
Here are  the colorful Channapatna dolls:

Channapattana dolls

 Another kind of dolls made in a small village Koppala of Karnataka, Kinnala dolls. These are also made of wood, but entirely different from Channpatana dolls. Channapatna dolls are cute and looks like dolls, but Kinnala dolls are dolls with life.At first sight you feel these are small human beings:

Kinnala dolls

Kinnala is a small village in Koppala district of Karnataka. Once this place was flourishing centre for crafts.The Kinnala craft dates back to 13th century, during rule of Vijayanagar empire, the craft flourished a lot. Kinnala art was started with painting the wooden plates and murals on the temples. Then craftsmen started making cradles , dolls etc and painting it with beautiful colors.
Very light weight wood is used to make the dolls and after making the parts, the parts are joined using paste made of tamarind seed powder and saw dust. And these are painted with natural colors. Earlier the craftsmen were making human figures:

Human figures – Kinnala dolls

Here are the dolls depicting pooja of a deity:

Now the craftsmen make animal figures too, in the below figures you can see those:

Garuda( Vehicle of Vishnu) and Kamadhenu (An animal in Hindu mythology) are very popular among Kinnala toys:

Doll making art has always fascinated human beings.In Karnataka many celebrate Gombe habba exhibiting the collection of dolls. There are different kinds dolls made of different materials like cloth, wire, sponge , wood etc. 

Recently learnt to make doll from clay. Will share about that in the coming post.

Until then,

-Ranjana