Setumaa!!

I spent this past weekend (May 19-21) in Varska which is in S.E. Estonia, also known as Setumaa. This secondary name is applied, because the largest consentration of Estonian "Setu" people live there. The Setu culture actually spreads into Russia, and unfortunatley, due to border placement, the Setu region is split in half, thus alienating Estonian Setus from their cultural capital of Petchory. Varska has become a surrogate capital in these times. I was invited by my friend Helena, to accompany her, her boyfriend Olivar, and Olivar's sister Elika to their mother's house about 3km outside of Varska. It was truly a unique weekend. Below are some pictorial highlights as well as three really cool videos from the weekend.This is the house we slept in. The property consists of three buildings, forest and field. Olivar's mother slept in the main house (which is only one room), where we ate and socialized. During the course of our stay, I helped fell some trees, mow the lawn, ready a field for strawberry planting, and BBQ our dinner. We actually slept on the top floor of the house pictured above because the bottom floor is a sauna. I had my first "traditional" sauna experience. In Estonian culture, men and women usually suana seperatley, if they don't, some type of clothing is worn inside. Olivar and I shared the sauna this weekend. First, he heated the stones in an oven. We then poured water over them to create steam. The steam can get so hot that it scorches your skin. This process forces presperation and opens up the skins pores. We then "beat ourselves" with birch branches that Oliver made that day. This exfoliates the skin and increases blood circulation (this is not for whimps---a true test of manhood). Once we could not tolerate the heat any longer, we ran outside and jumped into the creek behind the house. The other side of the creek is Russia, so we actually illegaly crossed the border a few times :) Your body is so hot that steam actually comes off of it once you leave the cold creek. Just picture me an my skinny white rear running from the small door on the left side around the back and diving head first into water about 40F!!! We then returned to the sauna and repeated the process. After the first time, we shampoed and soaped, then rinsing with cooler water and drying off. Combined with a few beers, this is quite the experience! Afterwards I felt clean, sufficiently exfoliated, and VERY tired. I slept like an Estonian baby.
This picture is of one of the trees in our yard. The flowers and grounds were breathtaking.
The night of our BBQ, I at my first tree. Spring is the only time in Estonia where you can enjoy this delicacy. Olivar and his mom cut down a small Juniper tree and we cut the bark off. The underside is soft and wet, you can then slice pieces of pulp off and eat them. It tastes like Christmas. This is the only way to really describe it.
Olivar's mother also makes her own blankets, rugs, and towels on a traditional Setu loom. The previous summer, Helena, Elika helped set up this loom. It is one of the few left in S.E. Estonia of its kind. This, I believe, is a 4-layer loom. Olivar's grandmother is a giant in the Setu culture. One of a handful of women who can operate an 8-layer loom, and sing most every song still in the Setu cannon. It is unfortunate that when her time comes to pass on, much of this culture may be lost. Thankfully, research in Setu music and culture has increased in the last 50yrs, thus preserving and catalogueing texts, tunes, recipies, and other Setu artifacts. Regrettably, most of this research is only done by Estonians, and therefore hard for non-estonian speakers to access. This problem will last only a short time I am sure.This is the breast plate worn by Olivar's mother when she takes part in the Setu Choir performances (she wears normal clothes the rest of the day :) These breast plates are one of the most unique features of Setu Culture. The engravings and other specific features deliniate many things about the family, history, and culture of the individual that wears them. Trudee, an other American fulbrighter studies these as part of her research in Estonia (she knows much more than I do). Many times, older Setu women give their breast plates to younger unmarried women. In the videos, you will see other parts of the Setu Women's costume. Each piece has its own significance, from the head bands to the fringe around skirt accessories. Traditionally, unmarried women can show their hair, and then widowed women and married women cannot. Below are three short videos I took. The second one is sideways because i do not know how to operate my camera :P E-mail me or send me a message if you want to know more!

1. This is a typical song where the first singer introduces the verse, and the rest of the choir joins in for the refrain, a sort of call and response, though you may hear how some women will jump in sooner than others, thus it not being a true resposory. The harmony is largely modal, with three lines: main melody, a lower line, and a higher line (usually sung by just one woman).

2. This is an individual song, about a woman named Anna's trip to watch sheep in the field and how she became scared. The woman singing is Olivar's grandmother.

3. This is a song and dance comparing rich Setu (on the left side) to poor Setu (on the right side), and which it is better to be. The women (and the audience) have a lot of fun with this one.