Votian and ingrian folk songs

Ingrian singer Maria Vahter (Mari, née Yefimov) was born in 1895 in the Ropsu (Ropsha) village. Her father Slabu (Slobsanov) was also from the same village, while mother Justina Issayeva was from Soikola (Soikino). Maria did not work outside her home village. She married Mihkel Vahter from the same village and the young couple moved to a settlement farm near the Hanike village.

Maria’s mother was not a singer, so Maria had learned the songs in her birth village, mostly from her contemporary Tatyana Nikolayeva. Maria used to be a cheerful young girl, fond of singing and dancing. She could not sing the lead, but had a clear and loud voice and was a fine singer. For that reason, Maria was invited, along with Yeodokia Räkälä and two other women, to sing at the 4th Finno-Ugrian cultural conference in 1931 in Helsinki, and she was also invited to a recording session in Tallinn in 1937.

Song:

• Hoz miä itken, hoz miä laulan