Estonian Folklore Research Articles

Evading Military Service and Tales of Hidden Artillery: Military Legends in Estonian Folklore

The article explores Estonian military lore, focusing on the legends and rumours that circulated mainly among men conscripted into the Soviet army, but also among those who served in the Estonian Defence Forces. Many of these legends played an important role in fostering a sense of camaraderie among the troops and continue to circulate as part of men’s oral tradition. Although, unfortunately, the legends were not collected during their active spread, we can get some idea of this cultural phenomenon from discussion threads posted on online military forums (e.g., www.militaar.net) and from comparative material sent to the Estonian Folklore Archives in the 1990s. The legends and rumours in the memories of servicemen and veteran soldiers tell us about hidden weapons, army discipline, strategies to evade military service, sexuality, fate, and serendipity, as well as exploring particular natural objects in local landscapes (bridges, secret passages, etc.).

Folkloristika Tartu ülikoolis 1941–1944: eriala järjepidevuse küsimus

The article looks at the teaching of folklore at the University of Tartu during World War II and the German occupation. It covers three academic years, from the autumn of 1941 to the spring of 1944. In previous studies, the period under review has been presented as a disruption: these years were either ignored altogether or described as an aberration in the development of the Soviet university. Yet it is noticeable that, when discussing the contribution of scholars whose professional biography also covers this period, their work is presented in the context of years, not political periods. All three approaches are characterised by the ideology of an authoritarian state: if research done during the German occupation was spoken of positively, it could be interpreted as anti-Soviet. Therefore, this topic – the everyday life of the University of Tartu during the German occupation and the war – is expected to become relevant. The gap in knowledge needs filling. Was there any activity in folklore at all during this period? The Chair of Folklore was established at the University of Tartu in 1919, when the Estonian-language university was opened. In the Tsarist era (1802–1917), studying the Estonian language and culture was possible in lectureship courses only. Jaan Jõgever (1860–1924) systematically taught folklore as part of the lectureship course from 1909. In 1919, Jaan Jõgever became the dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and one of the leading architects of the structure of the chairs of the Estonian language, culture and history at the university. Walter Anderson (1885–1962), an alumnus of Kazan University, who was already internationally renowned, was invited to the post of professor of folklore. In parallel, courses in Estonian folklore were taught by M. J. Eisen (1857–1934), who had previously worked as a pastor but, as a folklore collector, was a good expert on Estonian folklore. After Eisen died and Anderson left Tartu (in the course of the Umsiedlung in 1939), three alumni of the Estonian-language university engaged in teaching: Oskar Loorits (1900–1961), Elmar Päss (1901–1970), and the literary scholar August Annist (1899–1972). Elmar Päss moved to Tallinn at the end of the 1930s. Oskar Loorits, who was also the director of the Estonian Folklore Archives, became in charge of the chair. Due to conflict with the German occupation authorities, he could not continue working at the university at the end of 1942. However, folklore-related activities at the university continued: literary scholar August Annist delivered lectures and gave examinations in the specialisation. In autumn 1944, when the Soviet university reopened, Eduard Laugaste became the head of the Chair of Folklore. Annist continued as a lecturer of literature but was arrested in the early summer of 1945 and spent the next six years as a political prisoner. After he was released, he did not return to the university. This excursus reveals that, despite favourable and unfavourable circumstances, the teaching of folklore at the university that had started in 1909 was not discontinued during the war. However, it also shows that in the first half of the 20th century the government’s role was decisive in shaping the independence of the discipline by establishing the institutions. Today, it is important to analyse the development of the discipline, considering the interactions between the state, the institutions and the researcher(s), to gain a complete picture.

Udmurt Folklore Material in the Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum and Its Collectors: A Brief Review

The digitisation and preservation of language and folklore sound collections are highly relevant issues for many archival institutions in the Russian Federation. The folklore archive of the Udmurt Institute of History, Language and Literature in Izhevsk has not been an exception to this. The first folklore and language recordings on analogue magnetic tapes appeared in the early 1960s. In subsequent years, local folklorists and linguists made numerous expeditions to survey all areas of Udmurtia and the neighbouring regions where the Udmurts lived. Estonian researchers also participated in the recording of the Udmurt language and folklore during expeditions both in Estonia and outside. The article covers the joint efforts of Estonian and Udmurt scholars in collecting Udmurt folklore and language materials, which are currently stored at the Estonian Folklore Archives.

The Estonian Folklore Archives as a Knowledge Hub

The article focuses on matters both in Estonia and abroad that have influenced the establishment of the folklore archives in Estonia, ideological trends within the work of the archives, material coverage, and the development of the archives from an institution preserving collections into a research institution.

Performing an Archive: Aims, Interests, Ideologies and Expectations

Public archives are repositories of human memory and history, which collect, preserve, and provide access to the records and documents creating a bridge between the past, present, and future. Archives are dynamic structures that can be interpreted as knowledge hubs, with channels of information flowing in them, activities performed within the “black box” of the institution invisible for outsiders, and channels to disseminate information for groups that they serve. These channels develop and are designed under the impact of several factors. In this article we present six factors that have shaped the development and functioning of the Estonian Folklore Archives. We first illustrate the impact of these factors, browsing through the historical periods of Estonian folkloristics. Successively, the articles of the current volume on various aspects of tradition archives are introduced and presented within the framework of the hub conception, and the relevant impact factors are highlighted. The article demonstrates that ideological framework, public expectations, institutional status, research paradigms, individual incentives of the people in charge, and (developments in) technological equipment constantly shape the content and operation of tradition archives in various time periods and circumstances.

The Contradictory Foundation of the Estonian Folklore Archives: Traditionality and Modernism, Unification and Segregation, and Basics of Authenticity

The Estonian Folklore Archives (EFA) has intertwined with the basis of reasoning about folk and nation in many ways. The article discusses opposing concepts that affected the foundation of the institution and the development of its collections while altering according to prevailing ideologies. Traditionality and modernity, and unification and segregation were interlaced while constructing the Estonian nation during the period of national awakening (starting in the 1850s). In this modernist process the history of Estonians had to be (re)created. Country-wide folklore collection campaigns were organised, during which young people were gathering material from old people about culturally outdated genres and obsolete knowledge. These large collections became the basis of the EFA in independent Estonia and, according to erstwhile principles, the collection of folklore and filling in the white spots on the Estonian map continued. However, since there was no longer any threat to nationality, folklorists also began to experiment with new methods and study the genres, or social/national groups, which so far had been regarded as marginal or insignificant. The Soviet occupation was accompanied by major ideological changes. As a result of constant external pressure, folklorists enclosed themselves into ethno-centrist conservatism – folklore of Estonians and kindred peoples, archaic genres of peasants’ tradition – were preferred to be recorded and studied once again. Authenticity – the set of qualities of texts such as archaic, traditional, oral, or reliable – became the supreme principle for collecting and publishing. Interest in ethnic minorities and contemporary topics arose only at the end of the Soviet era, experiencing an explosive success in the re-independent Estonia.

Layers of Folkloric Variation: Computational Explorations of Poetic and Narrative Text Corpora

Variation is a core feature of folklore that plays a part in configuring the processes of folkloric communication, transmission and creativity. Computational analysis of large folklore collections offers new outlooks on the study of variation. The article explores the nature of folkloric variation on the basis of folk song and fairy tale text corpora from the Estonian Folklore Archives. Our enquiry into regional variation in Estonian folk song showed different patterns of geographic variation for metre, repertoire and language. To investigate further the possibilities to disassemble the components of variation we turned to a smaller corpus of fairy tale texts from the distinct Seto language community. The results of stylometric analysis of fairy tales collected within the close language community as a rule found that word usage patterns in stories told by the same storytellers were closer to each other than stories with the same content (i.e. tale types). However, other factors, such as collectors’ individual styles, recording time, length of text, and storyteller’s place of origin contributed notably to similarity as per stylometric scores. The study has shown that the individual features and aspects of such a complex phenomenon as folklore can follow its own variation patterns. Computational analysis of the variation in large text corpora helps us get a better understanding of the functioning of variation, and the processes of folkloric creation. However, the layers of folkloric variation are not that easy to disassemble, one must be aware of the biases in text corpora and keep in mind the effect of the linguistic variation on the results.

Siberi eestlaste lapse sünniga seotud kombestik ja sünnituslood

To study the childbirth customs and stories of Siberian Estonians, I used conversations and interviews conducted in various Siberian Estonian communities during the fieldwork of the Estonian Folklore Archives between 1991 and 2013, as well as the memories of Estonians who had been born in the Estonian settlements in Siberia and repatriated during or after the Second World War. As information related to childbirth customs is very much a private matter, the collection of such material during fieldwork in Siberia was somewhat limited due to short time and the guest status of the collectors. Women born in the 1910s–1930s who had experience of giving birth at home were more likely to share information. Siberian Estonians, who were born and raised in village communities with a rich heritage, share both personal and community experiences in their childbirth stories. Although the triumph of state medicine, with its small hospitals, had reached Siberian villages after the end of the Second World War, the initially trained medical professionals were met with mistrust and alienation. Village midwives were still respected, and villages adhered to many of the old beliefs about childbirth, as childbirth was controlled by the village community. Over time, giving birth under the supervision of hospital-trained medical staff became the norm. So, the need for village midwives has disappeared, and some of the traditions and customs associated with childbirth have been forgotten. At the same time, traditions related to the pre-pregnancy period and some childbirth stories helping to raise community awareness have remained very much alive.

Reality as Presented in Estonian Legends of Hidden Treasure

Stories of hidden treasure are different from other folkloric forms as in the Estonian folk tradition the motif of money is present in all genres. Monetary relations are discussed in proverbs and riddles. The problems of poverty and wealth are present in fairy tales. Opinions and dreams concerning money are verbalised in poetic forms in folk songs. People know and still practice various methods, partly based on traditional beliefs, that are known to bring good luck in money. The techniques of old magic meet modern recommendations of various kinds. In this article, the focus is on tradition relating to stories of hidden treasure. The legends and other stories (about 5,000 archive texts and recordings) are kept in the Estonian Folklore Archives and date back to the 19th and 20th centuries, although there are more recent materials. We can find three main fields in this tradition, depending on their connection with reality: 1) stories based in fact and on a real event, as evidenced by for example an archaeological find; 2) narratives that are part of local historical and toponymic traditions representing mental geography; 3) unlocalised stories that do not represent folk beliefs or legends and instead deal with more general questions such as what the real price of economic growth is, what consequences humans can face when luck smiles on them, what dangers – including supernatural sanctions – threaten people, and what consequences can be expected when they come into contact with treasures of unknown origin.

Children as Consumers and Co-Creators of Cultural Products: The Impact of Foreign Films on Estonian Children’s Culture in the 1950s

This article gives a folkloristic insight into how cinema and films influenced Estonian children’s culture in the late 1940s and in the 1950s. During this period, Estonia was occupied by the Soviet Union. Due to the lack of Soviet film production at that time, the cinemas began to show American, German, and other films of the 1930s, so-called foreign films or trophies. The post-World War II trophy films, which differed from Soviet films in both themes and images, but also ideals, characters, and soundtrack, became box-office hits. The source material comes from the relevant essays sent to the Estonian Folklore Archives at the Estonian Literary Museum. As memories show, cinema and films had a strong influence on children and young people. Trophy films had an impact on children’s culture, and children’s games and activities found inspiration in them. Children build the culture of their peers, being both consumers of the culture and creating a culture of their own based on the culture of adults. Adult films helped them to socialise and take part in cultural exchanges.

Oskar Looritsa portree Tartu Ülikoolile esitatud aruannete valguses

Oskar Loorits (1900–1961) is an Estonian folklore researcher, who is primarily known as the researcher of the folk tradition and religion of the Livonians, and as the founder and the first director of the Estonian Folklore Archives, founded in 1927. His connections with the University of Tartu have been discussed to a lesser extent. The article is based on the materials of the University of Tartu, mainly personnel records, stored in the National Archives of Estonia. Loorits was admitted to the University of Tartu in 1919, i.e., the same year the university adopted Estonian as the language of instruction instead of Russian and German. This involved the opening of new chairs, including the Chair of the Baltic Finnic Languages and the Chair of Folkloristics. Loorits specialised in Baltic Finnic languages and graduated with a master’s degree in 1923. Thereafter he started doctoral studies, while also changing his specialisation. In 1926, he presented his research on Livonian folk religion, for which he was awarded a doctoral degree in folkloristics. In 1927, he submitted the papers required for habilitation to the university and received the right to work as a lecturer at the university. From 1927 to 1942, he worked as an associate professor of folkloristics at the University of Tartu. In 1944, he left Estonia for Sweden. The article looks at the activities of Loorits at the University of Tartu in the period 1919–1942. As he received a scholarship from the university for both studies (1921–1923) and research (1923–1927), he had to present a report of his completed work to the university’s Faculty of Philosophy and to the university’s government at the end of each term. As he worked at the university at an hourly rate, he continued reporting until the Soviet power was established in Estonia in the summer of 1940. Besides factual information, his reports contain a remarkable amount of information on his personal development. These reports reflect Loorits’ keen eye for research problems and opportunities and reveal his great work ability and strict self-discipline. He was able to manage large research fields as he saw possibilities for organising them. He was a strict lecturer, although supportive of young researchers when they were successful. Loorits’ reports and the accompanying documents also provide an insight into the everyday life at the university of the 1920s–1930s. One can see that at the beginning of the period, the comparative method was predominant (this research method was represented by the professor of folkloristics Walter Anderson), and then the research methods based on the tradition group and presentation (Loorits) and the poetics of folklore (August Annist) were added. This was a period of significant advancement of research and science. While Loorits was able to see potential research perspectives and apply new research methods, his work was also theoretically innovative and shaped the future folklore research.

Elava rahvalaulu juurde jõudmine: Herbert Tampere teadlaseisiksuse kujunemine

Elava rahvalaulu juurde jõudmine: Herbert Tampere teadlaseisiksuse kujunemine

Oskar Looritsa liivi folkloori kogu

The Estonian Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum hold a valuable collection of Livonian ethnography and folklore – Oskar Loorits’ collection of Livonian folklore. Oskar Loorits started his journey to Livonians and the Livonian language in 1920, when he participated in a Livonian expedition in Courland as an assistant to Lauri Kettunen, professor of Finnic languages at the University of Tartu. His great interest in Livonians and the Livonian language, Livonian ethnography and folklore developed during this expedition. The Livonian folklore collection is valuable material concerned with the Livonian language and culture. The materials were mostly collected in the 1920s from 12 Livonian villages. The article provides an overview of the collection that physically consists of folders and file boxes in quarter format. The materials include both Livonian folklore texts and their translations. An important component part is the Livonian ethnographic dictionary. In 2013, the digitalization of materials started. The entire physical collection and its partially digitized materials are available to anyone interested.

Oskar Loorits ja tema kaasteelised

Oskar Loorits (1900–1961) was a versatile researcher who in international folkloristics was mainly known for his religious studies. He developed an interest in folk belief in his student days at the University of Tartu, where he had a chance to participate in an expedition and record Livonian folklore. Already in 1926 Loorits defended his doctoral thesis on Livonian folk belief. He also became one of the advocates for the cultural identity of the small Livonian nation. On Loorits’s initiative the Estonian Folklore Archives were established, which assembled older folkloric collections; also, the managing system was created and collections were supplemented. By the beginning of World War II, it was an internationally known and smoothly operating institution. Loorits left for Sweden and continued work in exile. The majority of Loorits’s research uses comparative-historical methods, in comparison with the folkloric material of the peoples of the world. Most of his research was published in German: Livische Märchen und Sagenvarianten (1926), Der norddeutsche Klabautermann in Otsbaltikum (1931), Pharaos Heer in der Volksüberlieferung I (1935), Gedanken-, Tat- und Worttabu bei den estnischen Fischern (1939), etc. Some of the most renowned works, which have also received criticism, are, for example, Eesti rahvausundi maailmavaade (Estnische Volksdichtung und Mythologie (1932)) and Grundzüge der estnischen Volksglaubens, which was compiled in Sweden in 1943–1960. As a personality, Loorits was impulsive in expressing his ideas, as well as articulate and remarkably persuasive. These features characterize his cultural and socio-political journalistic works. As a national ideologist, Loorits was interested in defining the ancient worldview of Estonians and Finno-Ugric peoples, yet idealized the centuries-long tenacity of the principle of animistic equality. It is not surprising that his ideas about Estonians as a nature nation gave rise to debates and are also under discussion today in connection with the problems of the sense of identity, environmental protection and nature conservation.

The effect of parental loss on child survival in nineteenth century rural Estonia

ABSTRACT This article explores the impact of parental loss and subsequent remarriage on child survival in the nineteenth century, by drawing on the example of post-emancipation rural Estonia. We utilize a novel, individual-level longitudinal dataset combining data from parish registers, poll-tax lists and migrant listings from 1826 to 1891, to examine: (1) how parental loss effects were differentiated by the gender of the parent; (2) if the loss of parents could be compensated by remarriage; (3) how parental loss effects were felt differently by the socioeconomic status of the household. Our results indicate that the effects of parental loss in this setting played in distinctive ways compared to those found in existing literature examining these processes in historical populations. Consistent with the literature, we find that parental loss effects were stronger when mothers died, but unlike other settings, these effects were felt longer in the Estonian setting and even among children aged 5–9 years. Also, paternal loss was associated with elevated mortality, especially among early childhood. We found no evidence to support the idea that remarriage for mothers improved survival prospects for children. However, there is clear support for improving prospects for children with the remarriage of fathers. When it comes to child health outcomes, stepmothers were not as ‘evil’ as they have been depicted in Estonian folklore, although the resources in families were generally limited and stepchildren might have been discriminated against in the resource allocation within the household.

Üks jälg Eesti folkloristikas. Elmar Daniel Päss 120

Folklorist Elmar Daniel Päss (1901–1970) was one of the first researchers who was educated in folklore at the University of Tartu: the Chair of Folklore started work in the autumn of 1919, and Elmar Päss entered university in the autumn of 1922. Already as a student, he attracted the attention of folklore professor Walter Anderson with his study about drinking in Estonian proverbs and folk songs, submitted for a students’ competition in 1924. There was no unified folklore archive in Tartu at the time (it was established in 1927). The study by Päss testified to his diligence (he examined collections of Estonian folklore both in Tartu and in Helsinki) as well as his ability to systematise and analyse voluminous material. He elaborated this study and defended it as his master’s degree in 1926. After a year in military service, he started work as a folklore assistant at the University of Tartu. In 1933 he became a scientific grantee, to work on a dissertation about Estonian and Ingrian Martinmas songs. Although the first version of the manuscript was completed in 1935, he did not defend the thesis. On the one hand, new material on Martinmas customs was constantly piling up, on the other hand, the defence seemed to be postponed due to economic difficulties. The establishment of the Soviet rule in 1940 and the following war further distanced Päss from research work. In 1947 the Institute of Estonian Language and Literature was founded at the Academy of Sciences, and for three years he worked there as a folklore researcher. However, his main occupation was a schoolteacher. So his most fertile scientific career remained in the 1920s–1930s. Three different intertwining directions can be distinguished in Päss’ scientific work: a comparative study of songs, customs related to calendar, wedding, and work, and the lore of border regions. Against the more general background of folkloristics, Päss’ research approaches are up to date: on the one hand, comparative and international research prevailing in the first decades of the century, on the other hand, considering the syncretic and functionalist viewpoint of lore that emerged in the late 1920s and in the 1930s. His studies of the customs and songs of Shrovetide and Martinmas could be part of classical Estonian folkloristics.

Regilaulude teema-analüüs: võimalusi ja väljakutseid / Topic analysis of Estonian runosongs: Prospects and challenges

Regilaulude teema-analüüs: võimalusi ja väljakutseid / Topic analysis of Estonian runosongs: Prospects and challenges

Tegelasvõrgustikud kahes raamatus Reinuvader Rebasest / Character networks in two books about Reynard the Fox

Tegelasvõrgustikud kahes raamatus Reinuvader Rebasest / Character networks in two books about Reynard the Fox

Changes in Estonian School Calendar Holidays in 1992–2018

The paper compares changes in the celebration of holidays in the period from 1992 to 2018. The data originate from large Estonian children’s lore corpora from 1992, 2007, and 2018. The first collections are preserved at the Estonian Folklore Archives of the Estonian Literary Museum (ELM) in Tartu, Estonia, and the 2018 collection as well as the digitized data of the earlier campaigns are available in the digital archives EFITA – the Research Archives of the Department of Folkloristics of the ELM. The calendar corpus allows us to monitor changes in the structure and essence of folk/ethnographic/local traditions, feasts celebrated at home, church feasts, and public holidays at school. The authors indicate that endeavours to establish national public holidays to accompany traditional agrarian ones began in the early 20th century. During the 20th century, the system of holidays changed three times (1918, 1940, 1991) due to political changes: the establishment of an independent state in Estonia, the loss of independence and continuation as the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, and restoration of independence in 1991. In addition to state, church, and folk holidays different ways to introduce novel international holidays (Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Halloween, Mother Tongue Day), and a search for new forms of celebration were also noteworthy during this period. As students, youngsters participate in the celebrations of their school as well as in the celebrations of public holidays, and at the same time are involved in maintaining their family traditions.

Mary Kaasiku ja Gustav Kallasto rahvaluulekogu ning kirjavahetus

The broader source material for this article is the Soviet-era correspondence of the Folklore Department (FD) of the Fr. R. Kreutzwald State Literary Museum, today the Estonian Folklore Archive of the Estonian Literary Museum. This collection consists of letters and postcards of nearly 400 people, as well as transcripts of the FD staff letters to their contributors. The total volume amounts to roughly 4,000 pages and mainly covers the period from the 1950s to the first half of the 1990s. The article also discusses the contributions of Virumaa correspondents Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto to the department, more specifically the folk medicine material collected by them, and focuses on Kaasik and Kallasto’s correspondence with the department, with the main emphasis on the personal health issues in their letters. Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto were among those who collected folk medicine material according to the 1959 survey plan, assembled in co-operation with the folklorists and medical doctors. Assessing the total amount of material collected by Kaasik and Kallasto (over 3300 pages), the folk medicine material is not very large (over 200 pages), but it is one of the topics in which Mary Kaasik and Gustav Kallasto wrote down personal knowledge or experiences. The correspondence shows that their health problems were constantly reflected both in their letters and as short comments among traditional folk medicine material. Mary Kaasik was more inclined towards sharing her problems and personal knowledge and was the one who wrote to the department on behalf of both collectors. In general, it is concluded that personal health has been an important topic in the letters of the contributors to the folklore department. Health problems were a major obstacle to commuting and attending seminars; so messages about the health of oneself, one’s relatives or other collectors or informants are part of the content of the letters. On the other hand, health also comes to the fore in the letters of folklorists, who in turn informed their contributors about their own or their colleagues’ health, if deemed necessary. At the same time, writing about health issues creates an interesting dialogue thread between the correspondents and the folklorists, with mutual encouragement and pleas to take care of one’s health. Thus, a rather personal life goes hand in hand with the practical requirements stated in letters on collecting and archiving. Thus, much data on health can be found in the department’s correspondence. Health-related messages are personal and trusting, the majority of correspondents did not have internal obstacles to share their health worries and to enquire for folklorists’ health. It meant sharing problems and probably provided some well-deserved mental relief. On the other hand, these kinds of letters also show the correspondents’ sense of mission – even when they were off sick, they were eager to get back to the field again.