Finno-Ugrian days return this October

As in previous years, this year’s Finno-Ugrian days are being celebrated in Estonia during the entire month of October with a variety of concerts, a conference, and many other events. 

The main coordinator of the Finno-Ugrian days, which bring Finno-Ugric peoples to the spotlight and enhances their cooperation, is NGO Fenno-Ugria. Since 2018, Finno-Ugrian days have also belonged to the International Council of Organizations of Folklore Festivals and Folk Arts (CIOFF).

The festival reaches its apex on the third Saturday of October – this year on October 15th – the day that the national flags of Estonia fly in honour of our fellow kindred peoples living all around the world.

The main theme of the 2022 Fenno-Ugrian days is “Bridge over times”. The main concerts will take place in Tallinn at the Vaba Lava venue (on Saturday, October 15th) and in Tartu at The Estonian National Museum (on Sunday, October 16th).

The art director of the concerts, Anne Türnpu, said that her idea for the concept of the events was to send a notional letter home. Although, until now, different Fenno-Ugric peoples from different countries have met during the Finno-Ugrian days in Estonia every year, when real meetings are otherwise impossible these precious connections are kept and nurtured through letters. “We, too, send a letter with our concert, like with the Khanty Bear Funeral Feast, a letter is being written to a heavenly God, Num Torum. We write to our friends and relatives who live in faraway countries and talk about small things, that (regardless of what) connect us both here and there,” says Türnpu.

The audience has a chance to see the folklore ensembles of Maris, Udmurts, Erzyans, Mokshas, Komis, Votians, and Ingrians that are active in Estonia. Ensemble Kāndla from Ventspils in Livonia, the Hungarian group Korinda, and the Finnish runosinger Maari Kallberg bring news from farther lands. 

The Ume-Sami musician Katarina Barruk is the main act of the concert. An artist, known all over Europe, she has won the most important Swedish culture award Skaps Kulturbärarpris for her songs and compositions. Katarina speaks and sings in the Ume-Sami language she learned at her father’s home. This language, which has been enlisted in the UNESCO’s list of critically endangered languages, is spoken by only a small number of people. During the concert in Tallinn, which takes place on October 15th, the singer performs in cooperation with guitarist Arnljot Nordvik.

A variety of folk music concerts are also being organised for Finno-Ugrian days by different non-profit community organisations, and thematic evenings will take place all over Estonia – one of them being a commemorative evening for the Udmurt folk singer Olga Solovjova (1932–2018) called “Džakõ apaj – 90 years since birth” (link in Estonian). Folklore and improvisational acts are being performed by singers and folklorists from Udmurtia in cooperation with Mari and Estonian musicians.

This year, the traditional Finno-Ugrian Days Conference focuses on Karelia (link in Estonian), its peoples, language, and history. Presentations will be given by acclaimed linguists and historians.

As the year 2022 is dedicated to libraries in Estonia, books and libraries equally have a place in our programme. On Wednesday, October 19th, NGO Fenno-Ugria will introduce its library over a Finno-Ugric club web live broadcast event with the possibility to borrow books through the ESTER e-catalogue. Followers of this event will learn how to borrow books from the Fenno-Ugria library. Jaak Prozes and Andres Heinapuu from Fenno-Ugria will introduce how the library of Fenno-Ugria came into being.

In cooperation with the Estonian public broadcast company, ERR, a rich variety of films and documentaries will be aired on Jupiter.err.ee during the entire Finno-Ugric month.

The list of films can be found on: jupiter.err.ee/hoimupaevad. As a new offering, a 10-part documentary that gained popularity in Finland “Finno-Ugric tribes in 30 days” (Suomensukuiset 30 päivässä, AitoMedia 2013), has also been added to the programme.

NGO Fenno-Ugria welcomes everyone to participate in the Finno-Ugrian days and invites everyone to get to know the rich cultural heritage of the Fenno-Ugric peoples and their languages!