The strength and future of Seto art
	Lauri Sommer

Eesti keeles
	Setumaa (locally known as Seto) in the south-eastern corner of Estonia, near the Russian border and partly beyond it, is considered one of the few places in the country where elements of archaic culture have survived to this day. Settlement in Setomaa was dense and typical of the region - there were small villages, now often extinct, a few small towns, and the only town of any real size, Petseri, situated on the Russian side (During the Republic of Estonia, 1918-1940, Petseri belonged to Estonia. The Soviet occupation adjusted the state borders and since the 1940s Petseri again belongs to Russia. - Ed.).
	As a borderland between two cultures, Setomaa has always been a peculiar place that developed along its own path, with remarkable linguistic-cultural differences with both Estonia and Russia. Unlike Estonians, the Setos are formally Orthodox Christians, although their world view also contains ancient pagan features. Hence Seto folk art has both a functional and a religious-magical aspect. In everyday life, the women's joint domestic handicraft tasks, preparing the bridal dowry chests (the three-day Seto wedding was a performance bursting with old customs) and maintaining the Seto comme il faut for married women, were of vital importance. The women, as well as their jewellery-making menfolk, managed beautifully. The lavish silver jewellery for women (strings of beads, large brooches, etc.), colourful ornamentation of married women's coifs in the two main colours of Seto culture, red and white, shirt sleeves with appliqué (the earlier geometrical ornament was later replaced by plant ornamentation), hip cloths, belts and other small items, make them walking pieces of art, which haven't lost their attraction even in today's mass media world. Men made up for their less appealing appearance with handicraft and trading skills. Life was regulated by the church calendar, with local supplements. About 80 village chapels (tsässon) with original, considerably diverse, architecture have survived. The rites carried out in and around them were free and sacred, in the spirit of popular Christianity. No Seto home lacked a corner with a candle, icon and icon spread (pyhäsenulk), or an icon cupboard with wooden carvings (kibot). The pagan half, on the other hand, had the cult of a deity called Peko, connected with fertility magic. Later condemned by the church, the rites were conducted half in secret. Then there were village parties, where peculiar singing games, the consumption of ether and other idiosyncrasies produced a strong element of performance. In an artistic sense, it is the pagan side that has left a stronger impulse - people are still actively involved in woodwork and handicrafts. Young men produce figures of Peko, candle-holders, specially designed gates for closed courtyards, two-storey barns with balconies (tõra), shingle roofs, wooden household utensils and natural, highly ornamented, sturdy pottery. In the old days, the earthenware-selling merchants travelling around in horse-drawn carts used to be called 'potiseto' - 'pot Setos'. In addition to flax-growing, the ancient Setos also earned their daily bread by trading in market places. Selling folk art items is on the increase in today's Setomaa as well. One of the most significant initiatives of the ladies who knit, e.g. Ulve Kangro, is no doubt the revival of the tradition of colourful and elaborately patterned Seto lace (pilo). Emblems of Seto culture - big brooches, linen kerchiefs, national costumes and their ornamentation, again appear in the paintings of artists with a Seto background (Evar Riitsaar, Toomas Kuusing, Madis-Mats Kuningas, et al.). Depicting and recreating the glorious past reflects a magical, inviting quality that is intended to help young purists settle in emptying villages and restore the traditional Seto farm culture as much as possible in our modern age.
	Younger artists who have focused on topics related to Setomaa are gathered in the Obinitsa Group, founded a few years ago (Evar Riitsaar, Eero Ijavoinen, Lembit Kiisson and friends). They have supporters among artists who frequent alternative worlds of thought (Peeter Laurits, Albert Gulk, et al.). The development of different areas of Seto culture is part of the general cultural revival in southern Estonia in recent years. This is a reaction against the surge of European and American consumerism. Against the regional background, the purist D-I-Y attitude dominates, and the archaic occasionally acquires a psychedelic face. The emphasis is on acquiring ancient handicraft skills, and in painting it is on mythological fantasies that may be manifested, for example, in grand icon-type portraits (Riitsaare's picture of the old lady of Seto song, Hilana Taarka). Artists of the older generation (painter Rinaldo Veeber, carpet artist Akulina (Kull'o) Luikjärv, et al.) exhibit mythology-based naivist and close-to-earth perception. It could be said that Seto art has not yet completed its reconstruction. The patching up of the parish-founded traditions that were disrupted during the Soviet period, is still under way. As in many fragmented nations, this too is an enthusiastic phenomenon, carried along by an inner necessity, half-utopian. Its effect and ability to persist is something for the future to decide. However, the ancient heritage of Setos, which they can rely on, is equal to that of the Celts - it would be a real pity to let such a wealthy world sink into oblivion. This is not a question of nostalgia, but a new synthesis. This year, Evar Riitsaar was elected the elder (king, mortal legate of the deity Peko) of Setomaa. He teaches art and handicrafts at the school in Obinitsa. The chance of a neo-aboriginal future is certainly there. Lauri Sommer (1973), writer and musician, sings in the Seto male choir Liinats'uraq (Town Slickers).
	| Estonian Art 2/03 (13) | Published by the Estonian Institute 2003 | ISSN 1406-5711 (Online) | ISSN 1406-3549 (Printed version) | einst@einst.ee | tel: (372) 631 43 55 | fax: (372) 631 43 56 |