The first heyday of recording oral narrative history (folklore) and antiquities in Estonia fell on the late 19th and early 20th century. The first records from the Estonians in exile also date back to that period. The previous collections of the Estonian Folklore Archives (EFA) contained a considerable amount of oral narratives gathered from Estonians in the Caucasus and Samara as well as those living in the regions of St. Petersburg and Pskov, whereas virtually no lore was contributed from Siberia. In the days of the first Republic of Estonia the ties between the colonies and the mother country were extremely loose. After the World War II the communication intensified but little tradition was recorded. The folklore of the Siberian Estonians, mainly handwritten notebooks of songs (such as August Lutsar’s notebooks of songs from the Kemerovo District), were submitted to the archives quite randomly.
The first researcher to have visited the Estonian settlements in Siberia (in the Minussinsk area) in the Soviet period was Igor Tõnurist, then a student of ethnography, whose ethnographic notes are kept at the Estonian National Museum. At his instigation the folklore archives (at the then Department of Folklore of the Estonian Literary Museum) found a contributor from Siberia: Rosalie Ottesson of Verhnyaya Bulanka from the Krasnoyarsk Territory collaborated with the archives in 1969-1976, sending in a total of 2,862 pages of valuable material.
During the 1970s-1980s historians, ethnographers and linguists conducted a number of field expeditions to the Estonian settlements in Siberia.
The field work resulted in collections of objects as well as photos and descriptions of the trips (collected by Igor Tõnurist, Edgar Saar, Jüri Karm, Mare Piho, etc.) in the files of the Estonian National Museum and recordings and handwritten linguistic material (collected by Jüri Viikberg, Lembit Vaba, Jaak Simm, etc.) in the dialectal archives of the Estonian Language Institute.
In the final decade of the 20th century several scholars of neighbouring fields returned to the study of Estonians in Siberia: ethnologist Mare Piho, for example, worked in the Setu villages in Siberia and ethnologist Aivar Jürgenson, who had begun his research on the Estonians in Siberia under the EFA expedition, later conducted individual fieldwork.
Ilya Lotkin, lecturer at the Chair of Ethnography and Museology of the Omsk University, and his assistants have studied the ethnic processes in several Estonian and Latvian settlements in western Siberia. In Russia, the history of archiving records of oral tradition is relatively short and of the material collected by Russian scholars only that published in their scientific studies can be used.
In August 1991 Anu Korb and Astrid Tuisk made their first visit to the Estonians in the villages of Verhniǐ-Suetuk and Verhnyaya Bulanka in the Minussinsk area, Krasnoyarsk Territory. Back then relatively little was known about the present-day situation of the life and inhabitants in the Siberian Estonian villages. Thus, the first visit to Siberia was first and foremost a fact-finding trip to get acquainted with the general situation and prospective opportunities for field work.
Experience on the spot exceeded all expectations. It is remarkable that in the villages situated thousands of kilometres away from Estonia it was possible to manage with using the Estonian language only. Even more surprising was a cursory contact with the oral traditions of the Estonians in Minussinsk: healing with words was in extensive use, quite a number of old religious tales, fairy tales and spiritual legends were commonly known and narrated, long secular and spiritual songs were sung from memory, and so on.
A vast working field lying fallow was waiting. This trip to Siberia lead to a firm conviction – namely, collecting the oral tradition of the Siberian Estonians had to commence in the nearest future.
Financial support
In autumn 1991 the project “National culture in Estonian Settlements” was proposed to the newly founded Estonian National Culture Foundation (ENCF). In financial terms, the ENCF was the longest-term supporter of the project (1992–2000, 2004); in addition, the project has received assistance from the Estonian Science Foundation (1995-2000), the Estonian Cultural Endowment (1998-2000, 2004) and the Open Estonia Foundation (1994).
EFA expeditions (according to the present-day territorial division)
The original aim of the expeditions was to identify the Estonian communities still active in Siberia and collect material on local folklore, cultural history and ethnography. During 1991-2000 and in 2004 a 2-4-member expeditionary team collected the oral traditions of the Siberian Estonians in the area stretching from the Omsk Region to the Krasnoyarsk Territory. Initially, the study of the Setu settlements in Siberia and the Estonians in the Far East was set aside.
The EFA expeditions in Siberia to date:
1991 and 1992 Krasnoyarsk Territory:Verhniǐ Suetuk (est Ülem-Suetuk), Verhnyaya Bulanka (est Ülem-Bulanka)
1993 Tomsk Region: Beryozovka (est Kaseküla), Liliyengofka (est Liliengof)
1994 Kemerovo Region: Yur’yevka (est Jurjev), Kaǐduly (est Koidula); Tomsk Region: Vambaly (est Vambola)
1995 Omsk Region: Zolotaya Niva, Semenovka, Kovalevo, Ivanovka
1996 Omsk Region: Mihhailovka, Yur’yevka (est Jurjev), Lileǐka (est Lillikülä), Estonka;Russian villages: Jegorovka, Novouika, Sedelnikovo
1997 Omsk Region: Tsvetnopol’ye, Staryǐ Revel’ (est Vana-Viru), Orlovka, Novyǐ Revel’ (est Uus-Viru), Kovalevo
1998 Novosibirsk Region: Estonka, Borovushka, Oravka (est Orava);
Russian villages and cities: Russko-Semenovski, Karasevo; Togutshin
1999 Omsk Region: Rõzhkovo; Novosibirsk Region: Nikolayevka, Uskyul’ (est Uusküla), Rozental’; Russian village and city: Beryozovka, Kõshtovka
2000 Omsk Region: Rõzhkovo, Zolotaya Niva
2000 Krasnoyarsk Territory: Verhniǐ Suetuk (est Ülem-Suetuk), Verhnyaya Bulanka (est Ülem-Bulanka); Russian cities: Shushenskoje, Krasnoyarsk; Altai Territory: Estonia, Russian city Rubtsovka
2004 Tomsk Region: Beryozovka (est Kaseküla); Omsk Region: Rõzhkovo
In 2000 two expeditionary teams were out simultaneously.
Participants in the fieldwork expeditions
The total of 14 people have participated in the EFA expeditions in Siberia: Anu Korb (11 times), Astrid Tuisk (8), Ell Vahtramäe (3), Aivar Jürgenson (2), Andres Korjus (2), Kadri Peebo (Tamm) (2), Villi Sulger (2), Risto Järv (1), Indrek Kaimer (1), Aado Lintrop (1), Pille Niin (1), Mari-Ann Remmel (1), Mari Sarv (1) and Ain Urbel (1).
Collection strategies
As most tradition bearers were old people, the collection was first regarded as a rescue collection: traditions from older-generation villagers and transmitters of the Estonian language and culture were primarily collected.
The annual expeditions broadened the scholar’s worldview in many respects. The traditions of the Siberian Estonian communities were not uniformly archaic. The Estonians living around larger cities were more receptive to innovations and more distanced from old traditions. While working in these villages narrative material connected to everyday life and life stories and to younger-generation Estonians became he focus of study. Despite the considerable distance, recurrent visits have been made to some Estonian settlements.
The material collected from the Estonians in Siberia in the EFA
The EFA files hold about 8,900 pages of handwritten material, about 370 hours of audio recordings, about 90 hours of video recordings and about 2200 photos about Estonians in Siberia.
The Siberian Estonian files include songs, beliefs and descriptions of customs (popular calendar customs, birth, baptising, marriage and funerary customs, beliefs and customs related to herding and agriculture, folk medicine methods and healing words), folk tales (stories of forebears and village founders, religious stories, fairy tales, funny stories, everyday life stories); the most recent years have added personal life stories and descriptions of everyday life.
Specifics of collection trips
The fact that up-to-date information about the Estonian settlements is difficult to obtain in advance complicates the planning of an expedition to Siberia. Strict visa regulations have caused additional problems: notarising a letter of invitation is complicated, the obligatory visa registration is time-consuming, the visa validity period is limited, etc. Clearance of expedition equipment at the border may also prove problematic.
The collection trips to the Siberian Estonians have taken place during different seasons. It is therefore vital to be acquainted with the local climate: the spring melting season and winter snowstorms render access to remote villages more difficult; in many areas the heavy clayey roads become very slippery with the lightest of rain, and in summer swarms of gnats and midges are a real nuisance.
Siberian Estonians consider summer to be the best season for hosting guests; however, winter may be even more suitable for tradition collection as people have more time to spare. The only obstacle in the winter season is perhaps people’s fondness of television series. There is definitely no point in planning fieldtrips around the autumn harvesting season.
Public transport between villages is scarce and irregular at some periods. Arranging transport with car-owners makes travelling from one village to another much easier.
Finding lodging for the night is quite easy – people living in the harsh climate are used to lodging strangers. Those who arrive from Estonia should remember that for the Siberians they are above all guests and entertaining them is considered a matter of honour. Unlike in Estonia, the Siberians are used to heavy nourishing meals with traditional vodka shots. As the Estonians who visit the Siberian Estonians are usually the relatives of the latter, the members of an expeditionary team are also often treated as family members.
Striking up a conversation with people is easier in Siberia than in the villages of Estonia, largely owing to the generous hospitality and openness of the Siberians. The general disposition towards a folklore collector has definitely become more favourable owning to Estonia’s newly regained independence, the establishment of the visa regime and the soaring inflation. As many families in Siberia and Estonia are inevitably separated from each other, a guest from Estonia is an ambassador of their ancestral homeland and usually welcomed in any family. A researcher is “one of their own” in every sense, someone who can be spoken to in mother tongue. Older people sense unity also in religious terms: You are Lutherans too? Now, in this case you really are one of us! At the same time, an arrival is still a stranger, an Estonian from Estonia, the historical, social and cultural background, choice of words, etc. of whom differ considerably from those of a Siberian Estonian. Perhaps linguistic differences are most acutely felt, though differences in understanding and customs may also prove an obstacle during fieldwork. In most cases, however, the collector’s sincerity and good will towards his conversation partners will nevertheless ensure effective cooperation.
The bulk of the traditions of the Siberian Estonians was recorded in the homes of the informants in the course of interviews and conversations, some recordings were made at spontaneous evening parties or during first-hand observances of celebrations of certain events or ritual ceremonies.
Normally, recording is not resented and passing on one’s knowledge as accurately as possible is considered important. Problems may primarily occur with topics relating to the realms of the obscene and the private. The Siberian Estonian informants are not only restricted by self-control, but also by the rules of the village community: not everything known to the insiders is to be disclosed to the outsiders, thus also not to people coming from Estonia. Traditions belonging to the private sphere are mostly communicated only tête-à-tête provided there is mutual trust, while healing words are told in the form of practical teaching. The recording of songs, sometimes also stories may be perceived as public performances where fluent presentation rather than preservation of the integrity of the text is prioritised.
Photographing of daily routines is often disapproved. The photos posed for in festive clothes are considered beautiful. As a token of gratitude, photos have been sent to the informants after each expedition; the villagers have also received the books of the series “Eesti asundused” [‘Estonian Settlements’]. Also, letters and postcards are still exchanged with a number of Siberian Estonians.
Through the expeditions, a part of the worldview of the Siberian Estonians has reached homeland.
Anu Korb