DOllz - Part 1

My favourite dolls are rag ones. I once went to a doll contest (gallery) In Albiar. Algiers.

The contest called for participants to hand make however dolls are they wished,

The conditions, though, were as follows:

1-      The doll has to be a rag one.

2-      Has to be hand made

3-      Has to be wearing Algerian traditional clothes (also hand made) from any city.

4-      A theme should be thought of and organised.

Many people came from all cities of Algeria (well we call them states, not cities. However, they are not independent ones as ones of the USA).

One of my cousins has decided to take part in that doll contest. She made 5 dolls wearing mini traditional clothes. She didn’t hear about it sooner. So, it was a bit of a short noticed for her, but she still gave it a try and put her dolls in the gallery. It was exciting to see her hard work results as well well other participants'. It was great.

Some participants didn't stick to the rules of the contest. Instead of making their own dolls with yarn or cloth, they took some barbies and plastic dolls and sew some clothes for them. To be fair, their themes and decoration were amazing; too bad their dolls weren’t accepted. My cousin didn’t have time to make any creative themes or decoration for her dolls to stand out more. She didn’t give them a life. Instead, she just made them and hung them on display. 

For me, a doll is not just a puppet that we toss around or stuff in the closet when we’re done playing with. In order to better appreciate one’s work, one is required to respect the effort and show gratefulness to God who’s allowed one to create such beautiful things. A doll has its own place, its own bag, and its own "life". Its presence reflects your work and passion. When you’ve created a gorgeous piece of painting, you’re not going to hang it facing the wall, with its backside facing the viewers. You’re not going to chuck it in the closet or slide it between your standing books in your library. Unless you don’t appreciate your effort and aren’t proud of your achievement, you’re going to treat it with care and respect! Whatever it is, be it a doll, a painting, a piece of writing, a DYI-ed decorative item, really.. Whatever it may be, it deserves to be taken care of as its presence reflects yours. It, remaining in good shape, mirrors your sense of respect, wisdom and maturity. For me, if a person who doesn’t know how to take care of the unique things she/he makes is a person who doesn’t know how to take care of another human being or creatures that God created. I believe God is perfect, he created us and he sure takes good care of us. If he abandoned us for a fraction of a sec, we would be doomed. I believe this is a good lesson to take from him. We aren’t perfect of course, but we could at least try our best to appreciate what we do, because by doing that, we are also showing gratitude to God for allowing us to achieve something. Something that’s unique.

Anyway, back to the doll contest. As I got into the big hall of exhibition, the deafening sound of the crowd filled my ears. Colours, kids and adults, clowns, picture flashes, and music, it was all overwhelming, I wanted to go straight to find my cousin’s stall, but dolls at the first stand caught my attention, and my heart was fascinated. On top of each stand were a sign that wrote the city (state) of the contestants: Algiers, Blida, Tizi ouzou, Tindouf, Bejaia, Oran, Tebessa, Constantine, Annaba, Tlemcen, Jijel, Tamanraset, Ghardaia..and so on. There are 48 states. 

Dolls weren't the only objects put on display. The contestants brought traditional tools used formerly by our ancestors (well they are still used in many regions). Some ladies wore traditional dresses and sat  in the exhibit booths. Other ladies made traditional food and brought it for exhibit. I particularly liked the few ladies who tried to simulate the traditional lifestyle. For example, they would sit on the floor pretending to churn milk, ground wheat, make carpets or even prepare Couscous.

To get an insight about a few things that were displayed in the gallery as well as to see the lovely work of the contestants, please click here

The link will take you to part 2 

I hope you'll enjoy it :)