An Akan toy is a traditional Khanty doll. They were popular in the past, but even today, the Khanty, who live along the banks of the Ob River and its tributaries, make such dolls for their children from fabric, woolen cloth or fur.

An Akan toy was a symbolic human figurine and consisted of a head and a torso. Dolls could be male or female. If an Akan doll personified a girl or a woman, her head was sewn in a special way. About 10 multi-colored chintz strips were laid first one on top of the other. Then the head was placed on the fabric that had been folded. All this was wrapped from above in one fabric strip. The female Akan’s head was always covered with a shawl, and a dress embroidered with stripes, beads or ornaments was her body.

A male doll looked different. Its body consisted of a traditional malitsa shirt, embroidered with stripes or ornaments, and two legs made of fabric strips. Male dolls, unlike female ones, were not decorated with beads.

Akan toys were always regarded by Khanty boys and girls as real family members. If parents took their children to visit relatives, the little ones brought their Akan dolls with them. Just like people, the dolls gave gifts to their Akan relatives and received presents in return. Akan toys accompanied children who took them to summer villages and reindeer herders, they went fishing and celebrated holidays together.

The girl’s first doll was made by her mother or grandmother, sometimes by her older sister. As the girl became older, she learnt how to sew Akan toys herself, decorating them with the same pattern that the adults had on their clothes. These dolls were often given to relatives as a gift.

Each Khanty girl had a whole set of dolls and toy accessories. Various miniature household items were made for Akan dolls: little bags for handicraft materials, birch bark boxes, cribs and beds, wooden tableware, hammers and beaters and much more. The girls used these toys to learn about household chores.

Khanty dolls did not have facial features — they were always faceless. The Khanty believed that if a toy with eyes was left unattended or lost in the forest, an evil spirit would enter it, and it would turn into a harmful creature called “pеchak”. It was dangerous for children to play with Akan toys far from home or in the dark, where they could be hurt by an evil spirit. In Nenets mythology, it appeared in the form of “Parne” — a hairy witch with long nails.