Toys from Assam
We all have grown up playing with toys. Some we made ourselves, and some that were given to us.
Each state in India has toys of their particular region. One of the states that loveknits loves is Assam.
Assamese Toys can be classified into four types – clay toys, pith toys, wooden toys, and cloth or cloth-mud toys.
CLAY TOYS
Clay toys are mainly made in the Goalpara region of Assam and have the characteristic pinched facial rendering of the mother and the child. Besides these, figures of gods, goddesses, and animals are also used by the traditional toy makers. The traditional clay toys in Assam are made by the Hira and Kumar communities. Most of these toys are in the figures of dolls, depicting brides and grooms.
PITH/ INDIAN CORK TOYS
Goalpara region is also famous for the cork or pith toys. In this case, mostly figures of birds dominate the overall output, but animal figures and forms of gods and goddesses are used as well.
WOODEN TOYS
Another material, from which toys are carved in the state, is wood. Wood and bamboo have been used for toy making for a long time. These toys are generally used for puppet shows and come in a variety of figures, like birds, animals, and even human forms.
CLOTH TOYS
The toys made of cloth, or a mixture of cloth and mud, have also become a part of the Assamese toy making culture. Great importance is attached to the Assamese toys made from cloth, so much that it is almost mandatory for every Assamese girl to learn the craft of making cloth toys and the skill is then passed down from one generation to the other. Almost every family and this craft is passed from mother to her daughter and this is how this craft is preserved in Assam.