Maarja ja Maarjamaa – ambivalentne diskursus Eesti kultuuriruumis

St Mary and St Mary´s Land - Ambivalent Discourse in the Estonian Cultural Space St Mary (Maarja) and St Mary´s Land (Maarjamaa) play an important role in one way or another as  ambivalent examples of cultural and religious syncretism. Estonians, on the one hand, consider themselves to be a relatively non-Christian (non-religious) nation or country. On the other hand, the insignia of St Mary´s  is used for important national badges of honour, to represent various local identities (e.g parish insignia), to construct a visual identity (e.g “St Mary´s Land” calendars illustrated using photos), in patriotic songs and stem texts, and in other contemporary celebrations of traditional calendar holidays etc. The author provides a short overview of the discourse about St Mary and St Mary´s Land using examples of the development of the names for Estonia and St Mary´s Land, places related to St Mary, traditional and clerical St Mary’ Days, plants named after Mary and national badges of honour etc

THE FOOD CULTURE OF ESTONIAN STAROVERY (OLD BELIEVERS): TRADITIONS AND THE PRESENT

The Russian Starovery are a time-honoured minority in Estonia, having migrated to the western coast of Lake Peipsi from central Russia at the end of the 17th century. The Russian Starovery subsisted mainly on fishing the lakes of Peipsi, Võrtsjärv, Viljandi, and Ladoga, as well as the Gulf of Riga. Besides, they grew chicory, cucumbers, and onions on their small garden plots and worked as masons in Estonian towns and rural areas. During the Soviet era, the Old Believers sold most of their home-grown vegetables to Russia, mainly Leningrad (Petersburg). After Estonia regained independence, the Union of the Estonian Old Believers’ Congregations was also restored in 1995, and in the new economic situation the Old Believers began to look for new ways of earning a living. In addition to road-villages, museums of local history, and chapels, the fish and onion restaurant opened at Kolkja in 1999 has become a central attraction for tourists, allowing them to get acquainted with the Old Believers’ daily culture, including food culture. The author analyzes self-representation and entrance of the Russian Starovery into reindependent Estonia through food culture, dwelling on theoretical presumption that food-culture and eating is an intergral part of human culture. The basis for generalisations is gathering of heritage related to food culture from the Russian Starovery, as well as printed materials and websites where they introduce themselves through food culture. It is indeed noteworthy that the Starovery´s villages along Lake Peipsi are advertised in media and tourism booklets primarily through their characteristic food culture, although the Old Believers’ cuisine – regardless of the religious convictions that have shaped their eating habits – constitutes a mixture of both Estonian (and thereby also Baltic German) and Russian rural and urban food traditions

Risti peale kirjutas: Ühel papil oli peni... Eesti loomakalmistukultuurist

While in Finland pet cemeteries were common phenomena already in the 1990s, the first pet cemetery in Estonia was established only in 1995. The article discusses a rather marginal aspect of death culture - the funeral traditions and cemetery culture of pets in the late 20th and early 21st century Estonian society. Native Estonians, who came from the village society, had mostly practical relationships with their domestic animals, whereas local Balto-German estate owners are known to have buried their expensive pedigree dogs and horses. Urbanised people have estranged from the natural environment, and try to fill the void with caring for pets. In our Postmodernist and technocratic world the relationships with pets are often of anthropomorphic nature - animals are often attributed human characteristics. The first animal cemeteries in the western society were established in the late 20th century. The first charity pet cemetery in Estonia, used mostly for burying cats and dogs, but also various smaller pets, was founded in 1995. The graves of pets are often decorated with crosses and gravestones. And though the semantics of the cross sign has lost its sacral Christian meaning for modern people, and has become to symbolise mourning, the Christians consider the use of the cross symbol in pet cemetery culture as inappropriate. The burial tradition of pets appears to depend on the ethnic and religious affinity of their owners and largely copies the traditional funeral tradition of the corresponding ethnic group. Various popular beliefs are associated with buried pets, for instance, excessive dedication to a pet may inhibit its owner's chance of having children. While the Estonian society has largely accepted the practical need for pet cemeteries in urbanised environment, the pet burial traditions are still considered as something alien, perhaps because of their lavishness. The burial traditions and customs largely copy the human funeral traditions. Pet owners also use figurative and euphemistic expressions to talk about the death of their animals. When a person dies, obituaries are published in daily newspapers. Similar obituaries and condolences are published in specialised magazines for animal owners. Comparing the Estonian pet cemetery culture with that of the Finnish, several similarities but also some differences in tradition and customs can be noticed

Maastikule kleepuv tekst: põrgupärimus

On the landscape, there are natural caves known as hells or hell graves, formed, for example, as a result of the outflow of spring water and in some cases expanded and deepened by human hands over time, as well as sandstone outcrops, feather holes or sölls or valleys, where, according to folk tales, mythological creatures-giants have lived or live: old pagans or devils. In this article, the focus is on “hell” as a traditional landscape element and places named “hell” in place lore and place creation, in original fiction based on folk tales, in tourism economy, etc. I claim that hell-themed place stories written down by folk over the ages stick to the landscape in different ways, whether it is the reuse of stories based on standard motifs in place creation, the consolidation of the landscape image embedded in traditional texts in tourism, even when the landscape itself has long since changed, etc. Scenically interesting places need attractive stories; this is one of the key themes of placemaking. As a concept, I use local place lore as an umbrella term for oral tradition in the field that can be linked to certain places in the landscape. Local place lore includes both international motifs and local legends, which in some cases have also been told as true stories. Local lore, as a type of lore that shows the connection between a person and a place, has been valued mainly because of the aspect that creates and supports local identity. However, the landscape surrounding the community is not a static but a dynamic space, in which new meanings that reflect the life of the community arise or are created, and these are also reflected in the lore related to the landscape

Traditsiooni konstrueerimine – tuhastusmatus Eestis

Construction of Traditions: Cremation Ceremonies in Estonia Today This article will dissert customs and behaviour considering cremation in context of changes in Estonian society and mentality, which has affected death culture and funeral customs. Cremation, as we understand it nowadays, originates from the end of the 19th century Europe, where a crematory was opened in Rome in 1887. The first cremation took place a couple of years later, in 1889. Thus, cremation is well accepted in Europe, but in Estonia cremation ceremony can be understood as a relatively new development in funeral traditions, being circa a couple of decades old. Cremation has considerably altered the clerical and secular funeral traditions, and consequently the appearance of cemeteries has changed (e.g., burial places have become smaller for urns need not much space) and so have funeral customs. In today’s society, the funeral customs, including cremation, are largely influenced by the so-called mass-culture. Incineration funerals are not regulated due to lack of interest by the authorities. Therefore, the urn and its handling are considered to be a delicate topic: only the family of the deceased are entitled to be concerned with funeral rites. Cremation is constantly an actual issue in Estonian (social) media, as much as religious, pragmatic, emotional and other questions regarding cremation are discussed. People often ask for advice whether to incinerate their deceased relative or how tobehave when facing such a situation. As stated in this article, the ancient customs passed on through generations serve no longer as a good example

Surmakultuuri suundumustest tänapäeval

Heutige Tendenzen der TodeskulturDie Geburt und der Tod sind immer die größten Geheimnisse der Menschheit gewesen - das Kommen und das Gehen der Seele des Menschen. Der Tod wird oft begriffen als etwas Unnatürliches. Die Unvermeidlichkeit des Todes ist verbunden mit der Wahrnehmung des Lebens, welche in allen Zeiten Grundlage für die philosophische und religiöse Betrachtungsweise des Todes gewesen ist, die von der Seele und dem ewigen Leben handelt, d.h. man beschreibt einen Zustand, in dem es keinen Tod gibt.Die zweite Unabhängigkeit Estlands seit 1991 spiegelt sich in sozialpolitischen Änderungen in allen Lebensbereichen wider, darunter auch in der Todeskultur und in Bestattungsbräuchen. Vieles ist hierzu seit der letzten Jahrhundertwende hinzugekommen: es werden andere Bräuche kopiert oder nachgebildet, und es haben sich fremde und außergewöhnliche Zuge verbreitet.Die Multikulturität in Estland hat das Bild der Religion bunt gestaltet -neben den Jahrhunderte existierenden christlichen Kirchen haben Estland auch die im Kulturkontext des Landes neuen religiösen Sekten aus der großen Welt erreicht. Ebenso sind die Religionen des Ostens propagiert worden. Obwohl Estland als eine der säkularsten Gesellschaften Europas bewertet wird, haben die religiösen Erscheinungsformen eine merkwürdige Stelle in der Alltagskultur eingenommen, besonders sichtbar erscheint dies in der Todeskultur. Die Einstellung zum Tod kann man heute wie eine Verknüpfung aus theologischen Vorstellungen, volkstümlichem Glauben und weltlichen Diskussionen beschreiben.Das mit Bestattungstraditionen verbundene Netz von Ritualen scheint in der postsozialistischen, multireligiösen Gesellschaft Estlands nicht statisch, sondern dynamisch zu sein. In der Einstellung gegenüber dem Tod spiegelt sich die gegenwärtige praktische und/oder pragmatische Denkart wider. Der Tod ist ein Verkaufsartikel geworden, und das im direkten wie auch im indirekten Sinn. Wir drängen den Tod in unserem Bewusstsein in den Hintergrund, spüren aber sein Dasein überall - von Massenkultur und Showbusiness bis hin zu Artikeln in Boulevardblättern. Auch Bestattungen selbst sind zu einem großen Geschäft geworden, zu einem Verkaufsobjekt, dessen Darstellung charakteristisch für den (groß)städtischen Lebensstil ist

In Memoriam

The article is dedicated to the old pine known as the Laatre cross pine which has dried. Since old times, crosses have been cut into trees when people are buried. This pine was the oldest living cross-tree. The trunk of the tree is thickly covered with cross marks. The dried tree is still standing tall, but possibly not for long. Folk beliefs claim the feller of a cross tree to always have an accident or even die later

Pärimus maastikul, maastik pärimuses: Hargla kihelkonna näitel

The article provides an overview of the dynamics of local lore in Hargla parish, its importance and meaning, as well as the influencing factors in the cultural space of a parish nowadays. The article is based on the fieldwork carried out in Hargla parish during the summer of 2012, with an aim to inventory the natural sacred sites, archaeological monuments and collection of oral heritage concerning those sites

Ristipuud lõuna-eesti matusekombestikus

A particular ritual belonging to traditional funeral customs of Hargla, Karula, Kanepi, Urvaste, Põlva, Rõuge and Räpina parish in the South - Estonia is cutting a cross on a tree when seeing off the deceased from home or chapel to the graveyard. Cross-tree ( Kreutzbaum (Germ); ristipuu, ristikko (Fin.); krestnoe derevo (Russ.) etc.) is known as a biggest tree at the (cross)road or a tree in the cross-forest to the stem of which the mourners ( the closest male relatives, godson, etc. in particular) cut a cross on the way to the graveyard. The earliest information about cross-trees or their similars reach to the 17th century.The systematic descriptions of tradition of cross-trees stored up in Estonian Literature Museums are rather late and derive from 19-th century. Today necessity of cross-cutting is motivated as followes:1) religious imaginations ( cross-cutting is a part of prevention magic)or2) following of an old tradition, whereas religious imaginations are missing ( the cross is cut a to tree because it is always done so)3) in rare messages there are said that a cross is cut to a tree in the place where people have died in accident. In these texts there has not been worded religious imaginations according to which the soul of the deceased transferres into the tree growing at the place of accident.We can find cross-forests, crosstrees of a village and individual (family) cross-trees.Tradition of cross-cutting is made up of the following: choosing of cross-tree; cross-cutting; offering of traditional glass of vodka and snacks