In pictures: The Seto people

[Aurovon]

On either side of a disputed and un-ratified border between Estonia and Russia lies the land of the Seto people, Setomaa (meaning "Land of Wars" in the Seto language).

A separate ethnic group to the rest of Estonia, the Setos have their own unique traditions of singing runic verse and worshipping pagan deities and are one of the last remaining traditional folk cultures in Europe.

Current events have only increased the political uncertainty they face.


Kala Maria, 80, wears the multicoloured national costume and conical silver breastplate, Suur Solg, traditionally worn by married Seto women. "I don’t know exactly how old my Suur Solg is," she says, "but you can see that some of the coins are from the time of the Tsar.

"It was originally from my great-great-great grandmother, and has been inherited from mother to mother. Its an essential and significant tradition of our culture and our personality."


"Singing is very important for our culture," Kala Maria states.

"The songs are inherited from generation to generation. In the old days all of the work was done by hand. If people got tired, they would sit down for a while and sing.

"Younger people came along and joined in and learnt the songs. Now there are no young people and there is no work, so people don’t sing as much as they should do."


"The biggest threat during my lifetime was the beginning of the Soviet occupation in the 1940s," Kala Maria says.

"We were really afraid and we had to hide all the silver and all of our national costumes. We didn’t dare to sing because people were arrested and deported.

"We just did not know what would happen next. It was forbidden even to speak the Seto language."


Kala Maria looks out of her window and sighs deeply: "Those of us that are left do not see each other as we did when we worked together on the farms.

"The villages are getting emptier and emptier and therefore there is no hope. Seto villages used to consist of 20 or 30 farms.

"It is not a village anymore when there are only five people, and half of them are very old."


The establishment of the Seto Congress and Seto Commission to promote their cultural traditions and represent their interests has proved a success.

The re-introduction of the annual Kuniigrii (where a Seto king is chosen), the writing and singing of the Seto national anthem whose lyrics speak of the hardships Setomaa has endured, and most recently the designing and flying of the Setomaa flag, have all helped to rekindle an interest in the Seto culture.


At the forefront of the movement to save the Seto traditions is Evar Riitsaar, Setomaa's longest-serving king, or Sootska.

"It is still a worry whether the culture will remain or not," he says. "If we do not push the ideas of the Seto culture, then it will be lost by the next generation.

"I feel that this is our last chance to save the Seto culture. Much has already been forgotten and will be forgotten still."


"The tradition of Sootska nearly died out; when the Russians were here, it was not allowed, but it was revived about 11 years ago.

"There are no formal duties but a lot of spiritual ones. We have a strong shamanic background in Setomaa.

"As Sootska, I do what I know best: singing, dancing and painting." Through Evar’s art, much of the Setos' cultural identity is being preserved. Evar also teaches schoolchildren painting and sculpture.


The annual three-day festival of Paasabar is the most important of the Seto religious festivals, held in Obinitsa, Evar's native village 3km (1.8 miles) from the Russian border.

The village swells with Setos returning to their families from other parts of Estonia and Russia.

After a sparsely attended church service, a procession slowly makes its way through the village to Obinitsa’s lake for a blessing. The following day sees a celebration in the cemetery.


Although Orthodox Christians, the Setos retain their pagan traditions and beliefs with the worshipping of their ancestors and the eating and leaving of food on their graves in Obinitsa’s forested cemetery.

"This place is where I get my strength from my ancestors - we come here to remember them with kind words and happy thoughts," Evar explains.

This is followed with the toasting of departed friends and family with the local moonshine, Hanza.


Ain and Segre Raal bought their farm in Setomaa three years ago.

Although non-Setos, they and their daughter have been accepted by the community and are involved in its daily life.

"I want and hope to be a Seto. I hope that the Seto people will remain Setos, that they understand how rich they are with their culture," Segre says.

Ain agrees: "Yes, so that they love their culture and they keep it alive and give it to their children."


"I hope that the richness of our culture will not be diluted by the Estonian culture; that our weddings, singing, family life and language will remain," says Kauksi Ulle, Evar’s partner, and Setomaa’s foremost writer.

"It will depend on the young generation, if they learn our traditions, our language," says Evar.

"I hope that in the future, young designers and architects will bring Seto ideas and traditions to their work."

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