Kindred Peoples’ Days 2024: Tallinn, Tartu, Jõhvi, Narva
Another year of Kindred Peoples’ Days dedicated to the Finno-Ugric and Samoyed peoples is now over. This year, Fenno-Ugria’s main focus was on Ida-Viru County and its Finno-Ugric heritage.
This year, the Kindred Peoples’ Days again attracted the attention of the Finno-Ugric Support Group of the Riigikogu. The head of the group, Juku-Kalle Raid, organised a thematic seminar in the Riigikogu on 17 October. At the event, Fenno-Ugria’s adviser Jaak Prozes and director Barbi Pilvre spoke about the situation of Finno-Ugric peoples in Russia and introduced the plan of the Kindred Peoples’ Days. Members of the Finno-Ugric Support Group and interested parties were present at the Riigikogu. The conference was broadcast by Postimees and can be watched online (see also photos of the event). The Finno-Ugric Russians and the Kindred Peoples’ Day 2024 programme were also the subject of a talk by Juku-Kalle Raid on the Jukuraadio show of Kuku Raadio.
President Alar Karis welcomed the Kindred Peoples’ Days with a Facebook post: ‘Next year, Narva will be the cultural capital of the Finno-Ugric world and Tartu will host the 14th International Congress for Finno-Ugric Studies. It is in this way, by continuing our kindred work uninterrupted, that we offer hope and a ray of light to our eastern kindred peoples, even in these particularly difficult times. Anyone with a Finno-Ugric heart can support and be part of the kindred peoples’ movement. Happy Kindred Peoples’ Day everyone! Be sure to check out the online tours of the exhibition ‘Echo of the Urals’ at the Estonian National Museum and the Fenno-Ugria website for a good overview of all the activities.’
Programme of the Kindred Peoples’ Days
The programme of Fenno-Ugria’s Kindred Peoples’ Days 2024 under the title ‘A road goes over the bridge…’ was diverse and colourful. At the beginning of October, the world’s first film in Skolt Saami, Je´vida, was screened at the Lindakivi Centre in Lasnamäe. In Tartu, this time instead of a big party, a kindred peoples’ community night took place at the Ingrian House. The party was followed by an evening of lively jazz at the Contriber Philly Joe’s club.
Kindred Peoples’ Day week
The Estonian Writers’ Union hosted an evening of Finno-Ugric literature commemorating the work of the late Arvo Valton. See the photos from the event by Postimees.
Traditional folklore festivals also took place. The Kindred Peoples’ Day folk music concert was held in Tallinn, where Finnish folklore enthusiasts put on a gorgeous performance of their folk costumes organised by the Finnish Institute. Another Kindred Peoples’ Day folk music concert was in Narva with guests from Finland, Norway and Hungary.
Kings of Finno-Ugric Metal brought to the stage Langenu, a Setonic metal band, and Taak, a heavy music collective. International guests were Ilmu, a band from Karelia in the Russian Federation, now based in Finland, and Vassvik, a Norwegian Saami already familiar in Estonia. The Finno-Ugric Club Night in Narva once again featured Langenu, along with Ilmu and the Udmurt-Estonian trio Ar-God on stage.
Kindred Peoples’ Day conference and concert
Fenno-Ugria’s conference ‘Finno-Ugric Peoples and Northeast Estonia’ was held in the Jõhvi Concert Hall. The conference was dedicated to the Finno-Ugric heritage of Northeast Estonia. Speakers included linguist Karl Pajusalu, historian Vallo Reimaa, cultural activist Madis Tuuder, local culture promoters, museum workers Mari Raap and Ergo-Hart Västrik. A musical interlude at the conference was provided by the local Ingrian collective Orvokki. See photos from the conference, a recording will be available soon.
The folk music concerts in Tallinn and Narva were produced by Eva Koldits. The project manager of the music events was Janno Zõbin, the conference was organised by Jaak Prozes.
The Kindred Peoples’ Days ended with the Finno-Ugric Classics at the House of Black Heads, organised in cooperation with the Chamber Musicians NGO. Diana Liiv was the pianist and Merle Silmato from the Finnish National Opera the soloist. The programme included Liszt, Saar, Sibelius, Mägi, Kuula, etc. See photos from the concert. After the classical concert, there was a solemn thanksgiving ceremony for the members, performers and organisers of the Finno-Ugric Societies who contributed to the celebrations. At the event, Piret Räni presented the new Finno-Ugric Calendar 2025. See photos of the presentation.
The events were supported by the Ministry of Culture, the Cultural Endowment of Estonia, the Tallinn Culture and Sports Board, the Finnish Institute, the Embassy of Norway, the Liszt Institute of Hungarian Culture in Estonia. See the visuals from the presentation of Fenno-Ugria at the Riigikogu on 17 October, by Eva Sepping.
Fenno-Ugria would like to thank all supporters, performers, participants and organisers!
