Matryoshka, or Kislevite nesting dolls, were originally made by the Ungols to protect against evil spirits. A newly married woman was gifted a hollow, wooden doll by her husband. At the birth of their first child, the husband sawed the doll in two and placed a smaller doll within. At the birth of their second child, the smaller doll was sawed in half, and a doll representing the second child was placed within, and so on. It was believed the dolls, as long as they were intact and together, would attract evil spirits in the place of their counterparts.[1a]
Although the tradition has died in most parts of Kislev, the dolls are still made, but they are now mostly decorative. One matryoshka typically has one “mother” and eight “children,” each beautifully painted in bright colours. The Ice Queen is said to have been presented with a six-foot matryoshka representing her entire nation upon her coronation, containing 1,000 progressively smaller dolls within.[1a]