Day 46 - Seto Kingdom Day

​WOW what a day! I have to say I was really looking forward to Kingdom day and it did not disappoint. I won’t write to much about today, but let the pictures speak for themselves. When we walked in there, it had hardly started but there was an abundance of food already available. People kept talking to me in Estonian, rightly so, as I was dressed in Estonian clothes. It was a good excuse not to buy things in that I couldn’t take things back to Australia. But there were so many wonderful home made products, and it really reminded me how much Estonian’s still live off the land and are extremely resourceful. We had the most incredible Seto Pirukad, which were egg and onion. It tasted incredible. I would have never thought to add these two together but apparently they are very Seto. I had heard about them before but never tried them.
 
We were walking around and the thing that I adored the most was the abundance of Seto Rahvariide. So many national costumes from the Seto region. I learned so many things about the costume on this day and especially how to many an authentic one. One of my new friends, Johanna, kindly went through what makes a costume authentic, so when I make my new one when I get home, or commission someone else to, I will make sure it is done authentically, based on what Johanna shared with me. I also managed to get some sleeves for a new costume, I was so grateful I could do this! It meant a lot to me that I could get this so I could create a new costume for myself. The other thing I found, and this was really special for me, it made me tear up a little, was that I was looking at vööd at one point and I asked the lady if there were any from Petseri region. She pointed to me a beautiful vöö that was, and I had to take it. Petseri is now in Russia and not really accessible to anyone, so for me it was really special to find something form there. If you have read my other stories, you will understand why this is very special to me.
 
When we were walking around we found a small corner at the end of all the shops that had two stalls, one from Mulgimaa and the other from Võrumaa. I found it funny that they had one small little area to promote their regions. Setomaa, Võrumaa and Mulgimaa are the three southern regions of Estonia and they really are very different but work together. I really prefer the south of Estonia as the people are so much kinder. I had a wonderful conversation with a lady who has agreed to help me learn how to weave on the loom next year. She will have something set up so I can learn how to do it and create some material, in Võru. I thought this was really special and was grateful one of the men in Võru directed me to her. She is a Master of doing this and it was really special, for me, that we could connect.
 
There was another point in the day where I was speaking to some of the Seto ladies I had come to know, and the Russian Estonian TV crew heard that I was from Australia. They wanted to interview me about why I was here, what brought me here, what is my connection etc. I thought it was really nice they wanted to know this and they were impressed that an Australian had come to Kingdom Day. I thought it was a fantastic day and if I came again, I would try bring my Seto clothes so I can really feel part of it.
 
Something I learned was when they choose their “King” or “Queen”, the person really plays a political role. In order for you to be chosen, you get a colour and then a string. The people that are voting for you, have to hold onto this string and get their hands stamped and it only counts if you are holding the string with the left or right hand, I can’t remember which one, and then they become the leader of Setomaa for the year. This person addresses the President and has discussions with the Government, regarding Setomaa. I thought this was incredible, as I originally understood it was just a title but there is actually a lot of work to be done with this role. It was also really cute how you had to “cross a boarder” to get into the Kingdom and you needed “visas”. They also had a toll point. It was cute how they had set it up like a separate Kingdom in Estonia. By the end of the day they name their new Master's for the coming year, in relation to different crafts. I think this is such a special tradition. The lady who we made the cheese with, won the title again! We like to think we contributed to that.
 
Anyway, that is enough thoughts and reflections, now time for some photos.
Until the next post
Marissa xx