Old things that come back

Did you know that not very long ago people in Sweden used to carry their children on their backs? And that there are still people who can tell about how they were carried that way by their parents in a special kind of sack, a so called "bög", or as in the western part of Dalecarlia, in a kind of band or sling called "bultband".

"Bälg" or "bög"

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Those who could afford it used a sack (called "bälg" or "bög" depending on the parish) made out of leather. As everything else in Dalecarlia its shape and use differ from place to place. The purpose was however everywhere the same: To make it possible for the mother to carry her child during walks to the mountain pasture or when working in the field, and to have her hands free. When the mother, for example, was busy raking the grass, she used to hang the sack in a hay-drying rack or in a tree near the field.

"Bultband" = Carry sling

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At Järna in Western Dalecarlia it happened, that the mother when carrying the children, not used a sack at all but a long band/sling called "bultband". It was weaved out of wool, five cubits long and around three inches wide.

Sources: Lars Levanders "Barnavård i övre Dalarna vid 1800-talets mitt" published by LT Publishing House1946. Nils Månsson Mandelgren - en resande konstnär i 1800-talets Sverige by Bengt Jacobsson, Bra Böcker Publishers, 1983

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Watatu Textil HB 2006