Etikoppaka Toys Visakhapatnam (History, Images and Location)

Etikoppaka Images

Etikoppaka is located at a distance of 4 kms from Narasipatnam,in the Visakhapatnam district. It is a small village located on the banks of the Varaha River.

Etikoppaka is famous for its centuries-old tradition of wooden carvings and artefacts, particularly toys, mythological figures, and Mohenjodaro and Harappa shapes.

Etikoppaka translates to “a group of houses along the river’s edge.” The distance between Visakhapatnam and this location is 65 kilometres. In this village, there are over 200 artisan families.

History of Etikoppaka

Etikoppaka’s toy-making legacy is thought to have been inherited in the early 1800s from Nakkapalli, a village 25 kilometres away from Etikoppaka (originally known as laccapalli) The artisans from this region migrated to Etikoppaka in the early twentieth century because of the abundance of suitable wood-producing trees. These artisans used to make temple carts in the past.

The success for the Etikoppaka toys is thought to have come from the Rajas of Vijayanagram, who migrated to this region around the same time and acted as catalysts as landlords. As a result, one of the landowners decided to turn this tradition into a business so that the artists and artisans could earn a living and support their families.

Etikoppaka Toys started using lacquer in 1906. Soon, the Etikoppaka craftsmen began making other crafts on the hand lathe machine, thanks to their unique skill and creativity. Dyes and processes that improved the elegance and quality of the artistic output were introduced during this transition. The craft has been perfected inexhaustibly over the years. This reflects the artisans’ relationship with their ancestors’ ancestral, cultural, ethnic, historic, mystic, and religious subjects, as well as their existing civic and natural surroundings.

Significance of Etikoppaka

Etikoppaka is a picturesque village in the Eastern Ghats known for its toys and dolls made of ankudu, a light, soft wood native to the region.

Bullock carts, wells, birds, and women are common depictions of rural life on these toys. The delicately etched toys are coated in lacquer. Surprisingly, no chemicals were used in the toy’s colouring. These toys are sold in several shops throughout the village, but they close by sunset.

For the people of Etikoppaka, making beautiful and colourful toys out of wood has been a tradition that dates back to before India’s independence. The toys are made of wood and coloured with natural dyes derived from seeds, lacquer, bark roots, and leaves after they have been shaped to the desired shape. These toys are made of a much softer wood, and the process is known as turned wood lacquer craft. Lac, a colourless resinous secretion of a variety of insects, is used by the artists. During the oxidation of the toys, lac is combined with dyes. Toys are decorated with lac dye.

Geographical Institutions

The Geographical Indications Registry registers agricultural, natural, and manufactured goods as Geographical Indications (GI) under the provisions of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration & Protection) Act, 1999.

Etikoppaka Toys has been awarded a GI tag in the category of Handicrafts in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

When is the best time to visit Etikoppaka

It is possible to visit this location at any time of the year.

Location Map For Etikoppaka Toys Visakhapatnam