Worry doll

What they are

A worry doll is a small doll, mostly made by hand. In Guatemala it is built from wire, wool and leftover scraps of colourful cloth, then dressed in traditional Mayan style. The size varies: some are about half an inch tall, others around two inches, and Guatemalan dolls can be noticeably larger still. In western countries the same object is often put together from pressed paper, paper, sticky tape and coloured wool instead. The Spanish name is muñecas quitapenas, and in English they are also called trouble dolls. A doll of this kind fits in a hand or a pocket.

The legend

According to a local Guatemalan legend about the muñeca quitapena, a Maya princess named Ixmucane received a special gift from the sun god. With it, she could solve any problem that a human being might worry about. That is how the tradition itself explains the dolls, and the story is told as a legend, not as a documented history. The dolls come from the highland indigenous people of Guatemala, and they are given or lent to children who are brooding, anxious or sorrowful.

Worries at bedtime

A worried child is handed a doll, or lent one. The child tells it about their sorrows, fears and worries, then hides it under the pillow before falling asleep. During the night the child is said to give the worries over to the doll, and by the morning they are said to have been taken away, so the child can move forward refreshed. What the doll offers is a place to put what is heavy. It is not asked to answer, only to listen and to keep what it is told until morning.

A listener for children

Worry dolls have also found a place in modern pediatrics and child psychiatry. In a psychological interview, some counsellors have offered a doll to a child as an imaginary but trustworthy listener, someone the child can talk to and rely on. The doll then works for the psychiatrist, the psychologist, the educator and the parent as an agent and a troubleshooter between the child and the adult. Used this way, the small figure carries part of the conversation, so the child does not have to say everything directly to a grown-up in the room.

Made and sold today

Today worry dolls are sold in very large numbers in Guatemala and in Mexico. Nuns and children from poor families sell them to visitors as souvenirs. Buyers like them because they are so small and therefore easy to carry around. Dolls made in Guatemala can be remarkably larger than the little ones most visitors take home. The figures are popular enough that they now travel as both a hand-made object and a souvenir that visitors carry away.

How Worry doll is kept

A worried, anxious or sorrowful child is given a doll, or lent one. The child tells the doll about their fears and sorrows. At bedtime the doll is hidden under the pillow. During the night the child is said to hand the worries over to the doll, and by morning they are said to have been taken away, so the child can begin the day fresh. In some clinics and counselling rooms, a counsellor offers a doll to a child as a listener the child can trust, and it serves as a go-between for the child and the adult.

When and where

Traditionally the doll is used at night, at bedtime: the child speaks to it, then puts it under the pillow and sleeps. It is given or lent whenever a child is troubled, so it has no fixed date on any calendar. In Guatemala and Mexico the dolls are bought and sold all year round as souvenirs.

Worry dolls belong to the highland indigenous communities of Guatemala, where the custom is rooted. They are made and sold in large numbers in Guatemala, and also in Mexico, where visitors buy them as souvenirs, often from nuns and from children whose families are poor. Outside Latin America they appear mostly as small imported or western-made objects rather than as a living local custom.

What Worry doll means

For the children who use them, the dolls carry something real: the fears that keep a child awake. Giving a worry to a small figure puts it somewhere outside the child for a night, and morning is meant to bring relief. In counselling the doll becomes a listener a child can trust and a go-between that carries what is hard to say to an adult. The old legend of princess Ixmucane and the sun god's gift gives the little figure its frame.

Questions people ask about Worry doll

See also

The BurrymanA man clad in burdock burrs walks a Scottish town for a day, bringing luck as he goesFriday the 13thA Western folk superstition regarding the unluckiness of a Friday falling on the 13th.Jack-o'-lanternA carved pumpkin lantern lit with a candle to brighten and protect Halloween nightsNazarA blue glass eye amulet worn and displayed to deflect the evil eye.

Good reading and sources

• Worry doll on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.