A Toy That Tests the Imagination – the “Beinarchua”

What is typically included in what used to be called a nursery in the home? In the municipality of Davos, it consists, of course, of a “Popi”—a baby. The infant is given a “Lutsch”, or pacifier. Naturally, the Popi is laid in the Wiega (cradle), and when the time comes for the toddler to learn to walk, it uses a “Ständal”, a baby walker.

In the second half of the 19th century, the linguist and folklorist Valentin Bühler gathered a wealth of material on the Walser dialect as spoken in Davos. And when it came to the nursery, he naturally included another popular toy as well: the “Beinarchua”.

In other regions, this toy is called a “Beinechue” or “Bainachue”, but the principle remains the same: animal bones are used as toys. Bühler himself offered a more elegant description. According to him, a “Beinarchue” is “the kneecap of a cow, usually dyed red, brown, blue, green, yellow, etc., meant to represent a cow—which requires some imagination.” If you fancy testing your own imagination, “Bainachüe” are on display in various local history museums in Graubünden—including, of course, the Heimatmuseum Davos, the region's local history museum.