Sawasdee

Sawasdee ka! This Thai girl is greeting you with the traditional Thai wai. She is a wooden doll, very common in Thailand, and very easy to get in any souvenir shop in Bangkok. Think Chatuchak weekend market. But mine I bought from the souvenir shop of Taksila Hotel in Mahasarakham, Khon Kaen province in northeastern Thailand. She is actually more than 14" tall, but her whole body picture doesn't look good; it's better to see her up close.

The teenie-weenies

At one time, I was obsessed with these Small Kids Dolls of the World edition, and frequented Toy Kingdom to check if a new doll is out. There were like 30 nations included in the series. But I wasn't able to complete them because I realized they all look the same, save for the color of hair. The most distinct one is Miss Kenya at the rear, which surprisingly is being sold in one on-line shop for more than 10$. These dolls sell only for 69 pesos (a little more than a dollar) in the Philippines. They are made in China, of course. If you go to Toy Kingdom now, the only doll left unsold is Miss Kenya.

Notice the very indistinct Miss Philippines in the foreground, with red skirt under black apron and white blouse. Miss India in blue with pink sari looks good, Miss Argentina is a cowgirl, and Miss Italy is in that blue blouse and green skirt. If this were little Miss Universe parade of nations, the winner would be.... Miss Kenya.

These are a group of figurines that I picked up from bargain stores. The most interesting of them are the seven little kids (3 on the chair and 4 in the foreground). The Dutch couple at the left are actually salt and paper shakers. Little Miss Africa with a drum has a broken base when I bought for 10 pesos.

Chinese puppets

These are finger puppets made of terracotta. I found them at an antique shop along the famously sleazy Chulia St. in Penang, Malaysia. This is my precious find in my Asian puppets collection.

Next to them is this hand puppet with head of plaster and a body of rolled cardboard. The head and hands are tied to a stick; the feet dangle on strips of cloth. It is labelled Made in Taiwan. This came with Dr. Maria Laosunthara's collection shipped to me from Thailand. For display, I prop him up on a miniature wooden chair I found at an Indian shop in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

Bride without groom

Pity this bride without a groom. She does not meet my collection policy, but she's on sale at half the price. Who wouldn't fall in love with her? She easily the prettiest in my collection.

The Bobsey twins

There's nothing significant between this pair, except that they look scholarly, which added to their cuteness. They are one of those Made in China porcelain dolls being sold at a bargain after a month on display. The two below are virtual non-entities, but when you walk into a store and find them selling at 50 pesos (1$), what would you do? My niece Shine finds them interesting anyway.

Cover girl

This porcelain doll is a cover girl. She was featured in my book "Agi, agi may putay sa dahi," a collection of gay stories in Kinaray-a. It was the first gay stories collection by one author in Western Visayas, and also the first book published entirely in Kinaray-a. But let's go back to the doll. The doll was given to me by Ed when he came home from Austria. But it is Made in China, so I was only half-thrilled because I expected an authentic Austrian doll. To be honest, I suspect he bought this at SM when he arrived in Iloilo City. (Didn't tell me because I did not want to break his heart. Ed, if you read this, I can explain.) But that doesn't mean I love Ed less. He more than redeemed himself by sending me figurines of Austria's famous musicians - Mozart, Beethoven, and Strauss. Although those figurines were Made in Italy. Maybe Austria, being a relatively small country does not really produce anything as they can afford to import, except perhaps for those divinely delicious chocolates with marzipan filling, engraved with Mozart's face - Mozartkugeln or something. Ed sends me that too, if only to make me feel like having Mozart's genius in me. hahaha.

So this doll ended up as the cover girl for my book. Well, sharing it with my brother Vaun. Here they are:

The book is still available at www.bookoto.com, if you want a copy. Go buy.

Wayang golek

This is a wayang golek or rod puppet I got at Batu Ferringhi in Penang, Malaysia. I wish he had a partner. This is from Wiki:

"Wayang golek are wooden doll puppets that are operated from below by rods connected to the hands and a central control rod that runs through the body to the head. The simple construction of the puppets belies their versatility, expressiveness and aptitude for imitating human dance. Little is known for certain about the history of wayang golek, but scholars have speculated that it most likely originated in China and arrived in Java sometime in the 17th century."

I have visited museums in Cambodia and Thailand, and saw Chinese puppets designed like this. The Muzium Negeri in Kuala Lumpur has a good display of many kinds of hand puppets in Asia. Wayang is the Bahasa Indonesia/Malaysia term for theater.

Paete's papier mache dolls

These aren't very pretty dolls. They were moulded from wooden dolls, perhaps copied from the plastic ones of the 70's. These papier mache dolls are from Paete, Laguna and are mass-produced to be sold during fiestas in most Tagalog towns. I first saw them during fiestas in Cainta, Taytay, Antipolo, Angono and Binangonan, Rizal. My first papier mache dolls were given to me by my friend Frank G. Rivera, who is a proud Paeteño, as Christmas presents, but I lost them when I lost a lover of eleven years. Sad. So I picked up these dolls in Paete even if they aren't very pretty if only to keep happy memories. The taka (papier mache) horse is one of my favorite Pinoy icons. I have a really big one I had to hand carry on the plane back to Antique.

Russian dolls

These are babushka or matryoshka dolls of Russia. According to wikipedia:

"A matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll, also called a stacking doll, is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. "Matryoshka" (Матрёшка) is a derivative of the Russian female first name "Matryona", which is traditionally associated with a fat, robust Russian woman.

A set of matryoshkas consists of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort inside. It has, in turn, another figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually five or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). Traditionally the outer layer is a woman, dressed in a sarafan, holding a rooster. Inside, it contains other figures that may be of both genders, usually ending in a baby that does not open. The artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate.

Matryoshkas are often designed to follow a particular theme, for instance peasant girls in traditional dress, but the theme can be anything, from fairy tale characters to Soviet leaders."

It is no longer a wonder why these Russian dolls are also made in China, isn't it? Mine were bought by a friend from a duty free shop in Subic.

The last samurai

Male Japanese dolls like this one are less graceful than the female ones. I included this for the sake of gender equality. The truth is when I decided to collect dolls, I wanted only male dolls because they are rarer. But the female dolls are really pretty and fun to have.

Raggedy Indi-Anne

This Indian woman's clothes are already faded. She came to me from Dr. Maria Laosunthara's collection, and I thought she really needs a home. Despite the age, her earrings and necklace did not tarnish, though.

Mountain tribe doll

This mountain tribe doll looks like another from Northern Thailand, but it's made in China so I have reservations in classifying them. China has many tribes too, especially in the northern part near Mongolia. This is a wooden doll, with very intricate detailing. The baby is a wooden peg too. Very cute.

Imeldific

I don't think anyone in the Philippines would go as much as honor Imelda with a doll, but that would be a wonderful idea. This cloth doll is not an Imelda doll, but hey, it looks just like her. And poised like Imelda Marcos too. I have a Cory doll; I must have Imelda too. She is wearing the classic terno, which Imelda Marcos and her gang of couturiers popularized. She is very elegant.

African woman

This is another of my favorites: A cloth doll from Kenya. She has a wire body wound with cloth and she stands on her own. The bowl she is carrying is half a rind of fruit. Very organic. She was given to me by my sister Mila who lives in Malaysia.

Malcolm from Scotland

Malcolm is from Precious Moment's Dolls of the World collection. I bought him in Boracay, of all places. Well there's this little doll shop hidden at D'Mall area, and I found Malcolm.

Indian musician

This Indian girl with a drum is rather old. From Dr. Maria Laosunthara's collection.

Three little girls lost

I got these three bisque dolls, although their costumes are not very distinct. Please help me identify them. This one I suspect is Russian or Romanian. I call her Czarina.

This one is really a puzzle. The plaid skirt is Scottish, but she isn't. She must come from a very cold country. Mongolia? or Vladivostok? She also looks like a shepherdess.

This one had a package labelled "Brunei". But I'm pretty sure she isn't. because the pattern of the dress isn't. She looks more African to me. I like her, though.

Dancing Indian

This is among my favorites: a dancing Indian lady made of terracota. Her head is detachable, the base is a cone on which the upper torso is attached. When you shake her, she sways and moves her head. A real dancer! And she's colorfully handpainted. Very folksy. I got her at the Little India street in Penang, Malaysia, and was afraid she would break during the travel. Thankfully, she's sturdy. Wish I could get another one like her.

Betsy Ross

Betsy Ross is credited as the one who created the first American flag. Here she is as a Puritan woman, in the early Colonial period. She is created by Precious Moments.

Precious Moments

A ballerina and a hula dancer

Little Red Riding Hood, by Precious Moments

Royal guards

The one on the left is a cheap key chain doll, but the Scotland guard on the right is an antique doll I bought in Penang, Malaysia. His eyes open and close. He must be a souvenir doll. I have two new ones from London and Denmark.

Dolls from Europe

These two dolls are not very distinct. When I bought them, the box label said Belgium and Germany. Don't ask me which is which, I got them mixed. Maybe the red one is from Germany, and I call her Bertha. But they both look the same to me. Only their costumes changed. They are plastic, made in China. The ceramic clogs I placed there because I don't have a Dutch doll yet. Because I classify these two darlings under Benelux countries.

Well, these two are in a really sorry state, but they are from the collection of Dr. Maria Laosunthara, sent to me in a box from Thailand. The girl, who reminds me of Little Miss Bopeep or Mary had a little lamb, is a plastic souvenir doll. The coat of arms on her skirt says "Geneve" so she must be from Switzerland. Her body is broken, I just assembled her, and any slight movement will break her. Poor girl. Well, the young man beside her, must come from Budapest, or some such exotic place. In which other country, aside from Scotland, do men wear skirts?

Hiawatha

This Indian girl has very delicate porcelain face, and her costume is very detailed. She was given to me by the great Peter Solis Nery, my dear friend when he came home with Randy in 2007. At 16", she is one of the tallest in my collection, and easily one of my favorites.

Another geisha

This doll has paper body, but plaster head. Got her from a bargain. Her glass case was broken.

Three Japanese girls

These three wooden dolls may be from China, but they are Japanese. They make a pretty picture, don't they?

Northeast Asian delights

These are really cute figurines. Left to right: wooden peg dolls from Korea; a Japanese girl in blue kimono, given to me by Dr. Maria Laosunthara; a pair of Chinese dancers I bought from an Antique shop along Chulia St. in Penang, Malaysia.

Memoirs of three geishas

These Japanese dolls are really pretty and graceful.

Sakura

Hiroko

Osei-san

Working girls

These barrio lasses show typical Filipina peasant dresses. At left is a Tagalog costume called "balintawak", at right is a Visayan costume called kimona & patadyong. They both wear a native salakot.

Santacruzan

The Santacruzan in the Philippines is a religious activity but has turned into a virtual fashion show with all the girls dolled up and dressed in couture gowns if not the Maria Clara. They have a procession around town. The prettiest girl is crowned Reyna Elena and escorted by the handsomest young man.
This doll is made of corn husk. The hair is corn hair too. But the dress is embellished with cheap frills. I got this at a souvenir shop in front of Paoay Church, Ilocos Norte. There were many dolls like this on display but only this one looks fashionable. The rest were like fashion victims, so I did not buy them. Hahaha. I suspect they were factory rejects. Mean, huh.

This is another cloth doll showing the Philippine Maria Clara. Her name is Maruja.

This couple are Barbie imitations and really kitschy, but what the heck, they are still dolls anyway. And I got them very cheap. They are glued to each other, and the girls dress is like a cone, it can stand on its own.

Philippine wedding 2

This is a sculpted bride and groom figurine designed by Robert Alejandro of Papemelroti. I think they're made of resin.

These are not bride and groom. Let's say they are the bride's parents. These are taka or papier mache dolls from Paete, Laguna. Paete is well-known for papier mache. I have two more bigger taka dolls but they are on exhibit at the Museo Antiqueño right now. Will post them here when I getthem photographed.

Philippine wedding

This is a bride and groom set from Precious Moments, given to me by Governor Sally Perez. I think she got this as a wedding token. The bride is wearing a Maria Clara costume, and the groom is wearing the Barong Tagalog.

Ati-atihan

These Precious Moments dolls are wearing the ati-atihan costume. Ati-atihan is a very popular festival in Kalibo, Aklan. Precious Moments has an assembly factory at New Washington, Aklan. They have a whole building selling only Precious Moments dolls.

This one is wearing the typical Ati-ati warrior costume, while the next one is an Ati queen. Her name is Maniwantiwan. She was given to me by Governor Sally Perez of Antique. Isn't she cute?

Mother and daughter

This is a Nena and Nene doll showing the typical Filipina dress - baro't saya. They are a picture of Philippine rural life. Very romantic!

Northern Philippines

This imitation Barbie is dressed in the costume of mountain tribes in Luzon. She could be an Ifugao or Kankaney girl. They weave very colorful cloths.

More Thai dolls

This is actually the first doll in my collection. She is a Changmai girl, with very elaborately embroidered skirt.
This Yang woman from Northeastern Thailand has very colorful costume. She is made of cloth. I got her at Khon Kaen, Thailand.