Seto Leelo

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Leelo , also Seto Leelo , describes the heterophonic singing tradition of the Finno-Ugric people of the Setu people (also called Seto ), who mainly live in southeast Estonia and in the neighboring part of Russia in the Setumaa region. Leelo was inscribed on the UNESCO Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009 .

Origin and meaning

In addition to the Setukesian language and the regional folk festivals, singing is an elementary part of the Setukesian culture and identity. The term Leelo comes from the Setukesian word for "song" or "song". The historical roots go back a long way to the Runo singing of the Baltic Finnish peoples . Influences also come from popular Russian singing tradition.

The leelo singing used to accompany traditional agricultural work and was present on all occasions. Today the folk song is performed mainly at the festivals on special Setuese holidays ( kirmas ) such as the annual election of a Setu king since 1994, the Leelo Festival founded in 1977 or at traditional family celebrations in the Setumaa region . Most of the singers wear the colorful traditional costume, with the large silver jewelry in particular catching the eye.

description

Choir and solo singing alternate in stanzas in the Leelo . The lead singer improvises using individual words according to strictly defined rules. The choir starts in the last syllables of the cantor, takes up the content of the stanza and sings. The texts of the Leelo are not fixed and are often improvised. The lead singer takes his inspiration from situational opportunities and processes them spontaneously in his text. This text improvisation requires a lot of experience and empathy. In addition, the lead singer can use canonized and formulaic song texts. Usually only traditional melodies are sung and no new ones are composed.

Singer

The majority of leelo singers are traditionally women. Particularly talented female poets are called sõnoline (" verbatim "). Pre- singers with a rich melody repertoire are given the honorable title lauluimä ("song mother"). A memorial for the "song mothers" was erected in 1986 in the village of Obinitsa in Setumaa.

In 2008 there were twenty Leelo choirs in Estonia, each with about ten singers (including only two male choirs) and a few choirs in Russia.

A large part of the Setu people now live in the south-east of the Republic of Estonia, but increasingly also outside of the historical Setukese settlement area in the Estonian cities. A few Setukese live in the Russian Oblast Pskow in the area of Pechory (German Pechur , Estonian Petseri ). In contrast to the Lutheran Estonians , the Setukese profess themselves mainly to the Orthodox faith , which in particular has strongly shaped the festival tradition.

Today, the Estonian government supports the cultural tradition of the Setukese minority with a comprehensive cultural program and funding that is important for Estonian standards. In Russia, on the other hand, customs and traditions are disappearing more and more due to the low number of Setu people.

Discography

  • Setusongs. Recorded in Värska and Obinitsa in May 1990. CD produced by Global Music Center and Mipu Music (MIPUCD 104) in 1991

literature

  • Lauri Honko: The Maiden's Death Song & The Great Wedding. Anne Vabarna 's oral twin epic written down by AO Väisänen. (FF Communications, 281) Academia Scientiarum Fennica, Helsinki 2003
  • Ingrid Rüütel : The layers of the Setukese folk song and their ethno-cultural backgrounds. In: Finnisch-Uugrische Forschungen 49 (1988), Volume 2, pp. 85-128
  • Leea Virtanen: The Song Tradition of the Setukesian Women. In: Folklorica. Festschrift for Felix J. Oinas . Bloomington, Indiana 1988 (= Indiana University, Uralic and Altaic Series 141), pp. 307-325

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