Mud People Nativity With Gift Bearers

In a recent post we looked at examples of European nativities including the little figures called mud (clay) people figurines or mud dolls. Souvenirs of Spain, these two-inch figures depict the peoples of various regions of Spain and various aspects of Spanish life. They are also sometimes referred to as "the poor man’s Lladro" in contrast to the fine porcelain figures put out by the Lladro firm. As promised, today's post gives a closer look at this delightful series.

My 18-piece set has two groups: the typical nativity scene and the gift bearers.

This is list of figures that came with the set, their names in Spanish and English:
Nativity Scene

Nino Jesus - Baby Jesus

Virgen Maria - The Virgin Mary
San Jose - St. Joseph
Note the halos on Joseph and Mary. Don’t the gold discs look like hats?

Rey Melchior - King Melchior
Rey Gaspar - King Gaspar
Rey Baltasar - King Baltasar
Everyone has a wide-eyed surprised look on their face, including the three kings:

Angelito - Little Angel

Buey - Cow warming the manger
Mulita - Mule Mary rode to Bethlehem; also helped to warm the manger.

Gift Bearers Each one brings what he can to the baby:
Pastor con Pollo - Shepherd with a chicken.
Pastor con Saco Harina - Shepherd with a sack of flour.
Pastor con Oveja - Shepherd with a sheep

Pastor con Marranillo - Shepherd with piglets.
Pastor con Pan - Shepherd with a load of bread.
Pastor con Sandia - Shepherd with a watermelon.
Pastor con Cantaro - Shepherd with a jar of honey.
Pastor con Cesta - Shepherd with a homemade basket.
Pastor Tocando Zambomba - Shepherd playing a zambomba; unique Spanish noise making instrument.

All their gifts refer to local trades and foodstuffs.
Among the gift bearers is one who presents a piglet for his gift... Everyone brings his gift, even though this would be most inappropriate for a Jewish baby!

Only one of the little pastores (shepherds) brings a lamb.

My set just includes the 18 pieces listed above. However, there are a large variety of little mud people available to add to your nativity – bakers, farmers, bullfighters, dancers, priests, choir boys, famous saints, -- even Don Quijote and Sancho Panza from Miguel Cervantes’ novel! There are also figures in typical dress from various regions of Spain.
Additions available for the biblical scene are stable, manger, camels, camels keepers, the wise men on camels, Roman soldiers, well, bridge, campfire, and other accessories.

Here are a few photos I found online of these whimsical clay figurines. From eons.com is this scene with a variety of local color.
On Flickr I found one collector who photographs a store display and indicates on each "lo tengo" (I have that one!)

Then he shows one of his displays with the figures in a setting with houses:

This Flickr user, macfacizar, also showed step by step as he sets up a large panorama. This is what Spanish belenistas (nativity builders) do each year in Spain. He also showed several mosiacs of his figures in their setting:

Thank you for visiting. I hope you enjoyed seeing more about the mud people figurines. Do come again soon. I will continue to share items from the collection for your interest.

Not quite vintage, these figures were first made in the 1970’s , so I will link to Vintage Thingies Thursday. Please visit Suzanne at ColoradoLady for more Vintage Thingies Thursday posts.