The Legend Of Quitapesares Dolls, Figures That Alleviate Suffering

According to the tradition of the Mayans of the Guatemalan highlands, when children are afraid or have nightmares at night, they tell their worries aloud to the “quitapesares dolls” before going to sleep and place them under their pillows. The dolls will absorb the worries, allowing the child to sleep peacefully, and by dawn all the worries will be gone.

Quitapesares dolls are pieces of a traditional Guatemalan native legend and can be used by adults and children. According to this legend, whose exact origin is unknown, the doll will take care of the problem in the person’s place, allowing them to sleep peacefully.

That way, when the person wakes up, they will be free from the worries that kept them awake. It is necessary to caress the baby doll’s belly so that she doesn’t suffer from the worries she absorbed.

A beautiful tradition to unload your worries

Although there are quitasares or quit-only dolls of all types, they usually measure from 10 to 20 millimeters. They are handcrafted from a base of wood or wire. His face is made of cotton, cardboard or clay, and his clothes can be made of wool or aguayo fabric, typical of Guatemala.

Originally these dolls were intended to alleviate children’s nocturnal anxiety, but today they are very common in adults’ lives. They are usually packed in boxes or cloth bags in groups of six dolls, one for each day of the week, giving the option to rest for one day. They usually come with the following instructions:

* Focus on worrying or suffering at bedtime.

* Tell the doll everything we want her to take away.

* Place the chits under the pillow.

* Caress the doll’s belly so that it doesn’t feel your pain and in the morning all worries are gone.

The dolls are used as chemist’s or as amulets, offering the possibility of unloading suffering daily in a natural way. This beautiful tradition promotes a healthy psychological habit that we should all use every day: forgetting all worries before bed.

The fact of transferring our worries and sadness to the dolls, although it is something imaginary, can be a very useful resource to manage the anguish and anxiety that problems bring and leave insomnia “far away” from us.

“Ramon, the Worried One”, is a children’s tale that talks about quitapesares dolls

Such is the strength of this tradition that there are beautiful stories that talk about the usefulness of these dolls to help children control their emotions, manage their fears and control their anxiety.

“Ramon the Worried One” is a story by Anthony Browne who has traveled around the world, bringing the traditional legend of quitapapesares dolls to millions of homes.

The story tells us about a boy named Ramon who has many worries that keep him from sleeping. After trying almost everything, his grandmother told him about the quitapesares dolls that alleviate the worries and he managed to solve his problems.