Seto Leelo: Seto Polyphonic Singing Tradition

Seto-Lelo is an integral component of Seto culture. This traditional singing style has ancient roots and is heard at every major social gathering of the Seto community. Seto-Lelo singing is heterophonic and mostly communal. Its lyrics follow particular poetic rules, but their composition depends on the occasion and the talent of the lead singer. The Seto are a small Finno-Ugric nation in the northeastern corner of Europe, with a population of roughly 13,000. Today, most Seto live in Estonia. Historically, though, their settlement area spread into the territory of the present Russian Federation. If you see something, you can sing about it. Yes, you can sing about it. How old were you when you started singing? I was 13 years old. I was married to a man, and we were in Poland at the same time. He told me that he was from Estonia. Seto-Lelo accompanies the whole cycle of human life and reflects it. There are songs ranging from lullabies to laments, songs for daily farm work and out of joy. In those days, singing was forbidden. The lyrics of these songs, like the one in Pyörkölharjuku, are much easier to do, because you don't have to think about anything else. The craziest thing about it is that you can't sing. What has made Seto culture so viable? One factor of endurance has probably been their relative isolation. The Seto have lived on the margin of both the western and eastern political and religious spheres of influence. They have claimed to live on the edge of two separate worlds. Their language is very close to the historically Protestant Estonians, but their faith is Eastern Orthodox. The intertwined secular and religious lives give a remarkable quality to Seto culture. The church calendar cycle of Lent seasons and days of saints or festivals has divided the year into periods full of singing, and the years of the year full of songs and dances. And times that are more silent. Singers who composed song lyrics were called Sönölinä, talented with words. Today they are honored as Lauluimä, mother of songs. Many singers and their songs are preserved in the memory of the community. The better the mother of songs is, the better it is to tell it from the front, and it will last longer. And then it will simply go to the trance and it will be sung. And who wants to listen to it? It's not listening, it's singing. It's meditation. If you sing alone, then there is a difference between you and the world. But if you sing together, then there is no difference. It's like meditation. It's a personal exchange of energy. Marja, Marja, my dear, my dear mother. I'm a kind of a neighbor woman. She was... I go to Marja and then I hear over the fire that she's crying. That what you think is... Well, we call it singing. No one has ever said it that way. You just live and do and are that way. I'm a kind of a neighbor woman. She was... I'm a kind of a neighbor woman. She was... I'm a kind of a neighbor woman. Seto culture was seriously threatened in the 20th century. The Republic of Estonia of 1918, that strove to establish national unity, and the Stalinist period following World War II that banned the speaking of the Seto language, caused a scornful attitude towards the Seto culture. I was a schoolmaster at that time. I was a teacher at the school. The first child was allowed to speak the Seto language. I had to speak the Seto language. The children were told that the Seto culture was bad and that the children could not live in the house. That's how I survived, and all those things. I was one of the teachers of the Seto-Seto Lielo Choir there. And nowadays we have marimba, but the young people don't sing. Since the 60s, the Lielo culture has mostly been maintained and passed down by Lielo choirs. These are the hubs of the Seto community and embody the Seto identity. As Seto gradually ceases to be a household language, children's choirs and Seto classes in school are essential in creating an environment of spoken Seto. Language skills are extremely important for the maintenance of Lelua. Lelua is an important part of the Seto culture. I have a cultural discipline. It gives me the will to live on and to do it. And if you don't take it as simply singing with friends, then we sing in a circle. You see everyone's face. You can look straight at them and get in touch with them. And when you really feel it, you see that others are also doing nice things from the heart. Then you get a feeling or a vibe that you want more and more. I feel like I'm at the right place. I'm doing the right thing. I feel how the roots are growing in the soil. I feel like I'm on the right track. The wind doesn't want to go away.