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The Dala Horse...
From Folk Toy to Lindsborg Tradition
by Joyce Englund
One of the questions most often asked by visitors to Lindsborg has to do with the
symbolism of the town's repeated use of the Dala (Daw'la) Horse. This gaily-colored
horse appears in many forms throughout the city, having been adopted as the central motif
in the official logo of the City of Lindsborg in the 1960's.
The original Dala Horse (Dalahäst) has been around for many centuries, and probably
was created by Swedish woodcutters in the province of Dalarna near Mora. During the
long winters, these lonely men would spend their evenings away from their families, and
passed their time by carving little toys for their children. While these carved
wooden toys, made from the scraps of the men's occupation, were mostly horses, some were
also roosters or pigs. However, the most enduring of these little creatures remains
the Dala Horse.
The bright, happy little animal as we now know the Dala Horse probably originated in
the 1700's. The carving of the stocky little tailless horses had become a
well-established tradition, but up until this time they had been unpainted and had just
the natural grain of the wood for ornamentation.
In the winter of 1716, while King Charles XII of Sweden waged war throughout most of
Europe, many soldiers were quartered in private homes in the Mora area of Sweden.
Because of the severe winter and the war, all suffered from lack of food and warmth.
Tradition has it that one such soldier, in his spare time, carved a Dala Horse from some
scrap wood in the home where he was staying. Before presenting it to the child of
the home as a gift, he painted it a bright red. This was a readily available color
in this area, being produced from the copper mine at the nearby community of
Falun.
He decorated the horse with kurbit painting for the harness and saddle. The use
of kurbits as decorative motifs on the horse came from the soldier's deep religious
background. It is the kurbit, or gourd, plant which grew up around Jonah as he sat
outside the city of Ninevah, and protected him from the sun's devastating rays.
In return for this bright toy, the woman of the house gave the soldier a bowl of soup.
He made another horse and received another bowl of soup. When word o his
success in bartering for food reached the other soldiers, they too began carving and
painting horses in exchange for food. Thus the Dala Horse is credited in part with
the army's surviving the cruel winter.
Dala Horses traditionally were made during the long fall and winter evening hours when
the weather prevented any outdoor work from being done. Although they are a natural
outgrowth of the clock and furniture making industries common in the Dalarna Province, the
Dala Horse has evolved into a symbol of all Swedish handicrafts. The traditional
color of Dala Horses is a bright orange-red, but they are also to be found in natural
wood, or painted white, blue, or black, all with brightly colored painted
kurbit-type
trim.
The village of Nusnäs, in Dalarna, is considered by some to be the home of the only
authentic Swedish Dala Horses. Over 250,000 Dala Horses are produced there every
year.
There is quite a bit of work required in the production of these decorative little
toys. Most are made of pine, which is dried for three to four weeks after the
initial carving. This prevents the horses from splitting after they are painted.
The design is first drawn on the wood and sawed by machine. Then they are
given to the carvers, who finish them using their own individual techniques. Each
carver will normally choose horses of the size that is most comfortable to him to
decorate, which means that the horses are available in many varying sizes. No two
horses are ever truly identical.
 In Lindsborg, the Dala Horse is to be seen
in many different places - the City's letterhead, on City trucks, on storefronts, as
decorative additions to many homes, and probably most commonly as bright welcoming emblems
on local residences. Often the name of those living in the house is painted on the
side of the horse, sometimes the street number of the house, and often a Swedish greeting
(either "Välkommen" or "Kom Igen") as well.
Visitors to our community will be welcomed at the outskirts of town, and along nearby
highways, by signs featuring the Dala Horse insignia.
Over the years increasing numbers of local craftsmen have learned to make these gaily
colored horses. Thousands of Dala Horses are now produced annually in Lindsborg.
To visitors and old-timers alike, please look on our friendly, snub-nosed little horse
as a token of our goodwill and a symbol of Swedish frugality and dexterity. It seems
that the little scraps of wood left over from furniture and clock making have truly gained
a rightful place in the annals of ethnic handicrafts.
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