The youth group mainly focuses on learning about the world of folklore and developing their skills in playing instruments, dancing and singing. Participation in the youth group also teaches valuable lessons in communication and playing together in an ensemble. Maatasa youth group brings together young people aged between 12 and 18. The repertoire consists mainly of older and newer folk songs from Southern Estonia and traditional dances known throughout Estonia. Although the youth group and the main ensemble perform separately on a daily basis, they are still a united community. A lot of events are organised and participated in as one group, and members learn by example: the younger learn from the older and the older from the younger. When the two groups perform together, they form an exciting and diverse mix of ages and perspectives of seeing the world, and the end result truly resembles a traditional village party.

Folklore Club Maatasa has launched the international folklore festival Tartu Folk. All members of the folklore group volunteer during the festival to help with organisation.

Folklore Club Maatasa, led by Halliki Pihlap (youth group) and Helin Pihlap (main ensemble).

Video by Maatasa youth group in Kladnos (Czech Republic). A compilation of their repertoire.

Folklore Club Maatasa at Tartu Folk 2024

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The Tartu Folk festival took place on November 14-17. The festival’s main performers were BUL Bodø (Norway), Motora (Finland), the folklore group Tarkšķi (Latvia) and Sörvemaa sörmitsejad & Ammuker from Saaremaa. The folklore landscape of South Estonia was introduced by the festival organizers – Folklore Club Maatasa. The festival’s main concert program was illustrated by folk dance ensembles and folk bands operating in Tartu. The festivals pre-party this year was called evening of cultural enrichment, in relation to Tartu being capital of culture this year. Udmurt traditions, Ingrian dances and Ukranian songs were performed by groups operating in Tartu. In total about 20 groups, i.e. almost 300 people, participated in the festival.

The symbol of Tartu Folk is a fire that sends sparks into the sky, each spark is a piece of tradition. This is why a fire is always lit at the festival’s concert venue in Luunja on the banks of the Emajõgi river. Participating youth gather around it to sing old folk songs, thanking their ancestors for their rich heritage. Tartu Folk is a participatory festival. We value sharing our traditions and folklore with each other. So already by the festival opening campfire, groups choose to perform songs which other groups can join and sing along. During the four days of the festival, we learned each other’s songs, dances, and instrumental pieces, tried national cuisine, and took time for joint games and conversations.

The festival involves local schools in the , and so the first concerts took place there. Since Tartu Folk is a festival of authentic folklore, all the information that reaches the students is incredibly exciting. The students get to know the songs, dances, musical instruments, and folk costumes of one region of one country. Students are always invited to join in games and dances, which allows them to directly experience the culture of another country. This year’s groups were hosted by Tartu Miina Härma Gymnasium, Tartu Waldorf Gymnasium, Tartu Catholic Education Center, and Tartu Hugo Treffner Gymnasium. Thank you very much!

The main day of the festival and the most popular party has always been in Luunja. In addition to the main performers, the festival gala concert traditionally featured Tartu folk dance ensembles. Although the main goal of the festival is to introduce genuine and authentic tradition, it is equally exciting to see where the creation inspired by tradition has arrived today. While an international dance club was taking place in the hall of the cultural center, at the same time young Estonian traditional musicians shared musical experiences on the Sadama Pub café stage. The interest in this year’s Luunja folk festival was so great that the cultural center was starting to feel small and ticket sales had to be closed. It was great to meet our friends from different cities in Latvia at the festival. Ķocis, our guests from last year’s festival arrived all the way from Liepāja!

While the folk festival in Luunja places limits on the number of participants, the final concert at the Estonian National Museum is intended for a wide audience. What’s more, the concert is broadcasted live and is available to be seen all over the world. This year, while Tartu was named Europe’s capital of culture, the theme of the concert was local folklore. The premiere of Maatasa’s video about the legend of the Tartu Cathedral was held. The groups could also guess the content of each other’s local legends, which were pantomimely performed by the hosts Tuule Pihlap and Kaarel Pogga. The welcoming words were given by Deputy Mayor Lemmit Kaplinski, who emphasized that folklore extends beyond national borders and that thanks to the fact that Tartu has bearers of folk culture, Tartu will always remain a city of culture. The response to the final concert was very positive, and many perfomers from previous years sent their greetings and compliments. According to Facebook, our broadcast had views from Norway, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, and Poland, but greetings were also sent from Germany and Ukraine.

The aim of the festival is to create a strong community and create friendships between young people interested in folklore. Therefore, it can be said that the festival fulfills its purpose and keeps friends together even when it is not possible to come to the venue. Folklore ensemble Perlynka from Ukraine: “We enjoyed watching this year’s festival. Every time you invite great folk groups! Tartu Folk is forever in our hearts ”

The festival is organized by Tartu Folklore Club Maatasa. We are sincerely grateful to all the supporters, participants and the lovely audience who are with us again and again!

Photos by Peeter Paaver

Events: November 14 – Cultural Wealth Evening; November 15 – Opening of the Festival in Luunja; November 16 – Gala concert and folk party in Luunja; November 17 – Festival closing concert and concert broadcast from the Estonian National Museum.

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Communication between the two Capitals of Culture has already been established – the festival organisers, Folklore Club Maatasa, visited Bodø last May, and the two folklore ensembles became quick friends. Read more about the two groups meeting here.

While Norway’s string music is gentler and modest, the second Nordic country representative, Motora from Finland, Joensuu, will come and show off their energetic Karjala dances and rhythms. Motora and the organisers also share a history of collaboration, with the group taking part in Tartu Folk in 2019 and going on to win the virtual folk battle Tartu Folk-Off 2020. Since the beginning of the festival, the main performers have always included a representative of the Baltics. The Latvian guest performers have always been one of the most inspiring performers in our festival’s history. This year, the Baltics will be represented by an Estonian group and the Latvian group Tarkšķi from Iecava. The ensemble is well-known in Latvia and has also participated in Tartu Folk-Off, where they scored second place.

The festival’s Estonian ensemble – Sörve Sõrmitsejad – comes from Saaremaan and will be introducing the culture of the islands of Estonia through song, dance, and instrumental tunes. In addition to the Baltic and Nordic ensembles, the festival will also bring together various Tartu musicians, ensembles and dance groups to introduce our local Tartu culture and community to our guests. 2024 has also been declared the Year of Diversity by the Integration Foundation, and Tartu Folk will be making a contribution to this as well. We invite everyone to participate in this festival and enjoy the diverse cultures of our ensembles.

Let us recall: The first festival organised by Tartu Folklore Club Maatasa took place in 2016, aiming to introduce groups dedicated to unarranged folklore to each other. Back then, the festival was called the Tartu Youth Folklore Festival. The festival was held every year in November until COVID-19 regulations struck. The festival adapted and instead held the web show Tartu Folk-Off, which received much attention and support. Since the end of COVID-19 regulations, the organisers combined the two concepts into one in 2022, creating Tartu Folk, a festival with both live interactions and a final concert that would be broadcast online to allow for a broader, more international audience to take part in the festivities. The organisers,

Folklore Club Maatasa at the Tartu Car-free Avenue performing for the Tartu Wine and Food Festival. Photo: Helin Pihlap

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The invite was handed out by the Norwegian community BUL Bodø, a community dedicated to traditional Norwegian dancing, folk music and hobby theatre. The organisation connects children and youths of all ages under the supervision of their parents.

Although the collaboration did not receive financial support from Bodø, Maatasa’s members were keen on travelling to Bodø to visit this community of musicians and paid for the trip with their funds. The hosts were sorry they could not offer us the initial journey programme, but they incorporated Maatasa’s visit into their everyday life and local traditions. We ourselves immensely enjoyed the opportunity to experience the local culture and traditions. It was very impressive! For example, we participated in a concert where over 150 local students performed traditional Norwegian dances. This was the very first performance of this kind at Bodø’s town centre. Although the students had no former experience with traditional dancing, their excitement and joy from performing were apparent. When Maatasa’s musicians began playing, the local children ran for the opportunity to dance to our music alongside their teachers! The excitement from the local students further exemplified the necessity for folk music and dance communities. Have a look at Maatasa’s flatfoot dancing with the local youth here.

We spent four days altogether in Bodø. Maatasa had the lovely opportunity to participate in Norwegian folk music evenings and a village party, Bygdefest, on the first two evenings. The evenings dedicated to music took place in the concert house Beddingen, wherein the hall resembled a theatre’s black box. We were able to enjoy beautiful violin music, which was accompanied by the dancing of both the youth and the elderly. We had the chance to enjoy shows held by the professional dance theatre Kartelle, where the communication between dancers and musicians was part of the show. The Ragnhild Furebottens orchestra also performed, and the ensemble was clearly beloved by the locals. Maatasa was also welcomed, and while on the first night, we showed off our “usual dance night music”, on the second night, we realised that the locals much preferred to glide along with their partners, and our waltzes-polkas went over well. Of course, we were able to witness the famous Halling, which was played by the violins, until two young Norwegian men came up to dance and catch the hat. Even the young men of Maatasa were given the opportunity to have a try at the Halling, and we did pretty well. The two evenings where we had the chance to participate in BUL Bodø’s organised folk evenings were truly great and the members of Maatasa and the locals of Bodø quickly became good friends.

Since Bodø is in northern Norway, we witnessed the polar day, which meant that it was completely light outside at one o’clock in the morning. It was hard to tell whether the sun was rising or setting. We also did not miss out on Norwegian mountains and fog. At one point, the fog rolled in so quickly that it hid the mountains from our horizons. Our guide gathered our group up, for she had former experience wandering around in the fog. We asked whether or not the trolls would also show up alongside the fog and were assured that no, the trolls come out only at night.

The last days of our trip to Norway were dedicated to a youth camp in the school of Aspåsen, where we learned many Norwegian dances and folk tunes once more. The music workshops were very professionally led by a known Estonian folk musician and violinist, Johanna-Adele Jüssi and a Norwegian musician, Sturla Eide. On the second day of the camp, it was time to reflect on what we had learned so far, and the camp ended with a concert and dance evening. The last night was full of warm embraces, for within these four days in Bodø, the connections between Maatasa and BUL Bodø were incredibly warm and sincere. However, we didn’t say farewell to each other, with the promise of seeing each other again at Tartu Folk.

Special thanks to: Ingebjørg Vestrum, Karin Falch Belsheimm, Monika Vågan, Zsuzsanna Tóth!
European Capital of Culture 2024 – Bodø & Salten
Visit their website here

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The music turned out great so it seemed only natural to make an exciting video to accompany it.

Participants in the video: Marleen Boston, Marten Boston, Jan-Erik Elmest, Brett Hiiob, Kristjan Häggblom, Romet Koor, Getter Laaneväli, Mirtel Laaneväli, Kaimar Laaneväli, Kalver Laaneväli, Piret Laanmets, Elisabeth Laanmets, Eduard Laanmets, Getter Lauk, Carol Maask, Marii Merisalu, Oskar Nursi, Koit Helger Panksepp, Robert Petrov, Halliki Pihlap, Helin Pihlap, Meelis Pihlap, Tuule Pihlap, Johannes Pihlap, Maret Pihlap, Sander Reemets, Marko Roosiväli, Jasmin Saar, Merille Saare, Anzela Sirel, Britt Zimmermann, Renee Trei, Elisabeth Yenma Virnas.

We were joined by Piret’s grandmother and great aunt: Milvi Kõiv, Aino Jaaska.

Thank you for the support: Pärna puhkeküla, Kuvaman, Tartu Christian Adolescent Home, Tartu City Government

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