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EESTI ELU reedel, 26. juunil 2020 — Friday, June 26, 2020
Sacred Natural Sites at the Time of Jaanipäev Vincent Teetsov As Estonians all over the world prepare to celebrate Jaanipäev (Midsummer) on Wednesday June 24th, or on the days before and after it, our attention is drawn not only to partying all night and making a bonfire, but recog nizing the sun, the changing seasons, the coming harvest, and all that gives us reason to celebrate. For some of the 54% of Estonians who believe in a spirit or life force outside of Christianity, that recognition extends to specific sections of land across Estonia. Taarau su liste ja Maausuliste (Estonian House of Taara and Native Religions), also known as Maavalla Koda, reported 2,500 known sacred natural sites (SNSs) eight years ago. The total number, including those that are unknown, is thought to be 7,000. Some of these SNSs include sacred trees, sacred stones with ancient cupmarks, cross-trees, and sacred water. Perhaps the most well-known of these are hiied (sacred groves), of which approximately 500 known sites were reported in 2012. On sacred dates throughout the year, of which Jaanipäev is one, and significant life events, sacred groves are places to pray, dance, name one’s children, bless marriages, and scatter ashes of the deceased. Time at a hiis may involve moments of calm and peace, or connecting with ancestors. For those who live by native Estonian beliefs, there is an acknowledgment of land and what it gives to us. There is also an understand ing of what is to be given back. In this way, there is a recipro cal, symbiotic relationship be tween humans and nature. We benefit from trees, stone, water, and more; but we also act in a manner which protects the condition and health of these elements. In a sacred grove, vegetation is left alone, trees are planted instead of cut, and water is not polluted. These kind of features bene fit us psychologically, too – a 1984 study by Roger Ulrich from Chalmers University of Technology indicated that hos pital patients who were recover
ing from surgery required less recovery time and pain medi cation when their hospital room window faced a natural scene. Despite the intimate cultural value that sacred natural sites have provided to Estonians, they haven’t been afforded as much state recognition in the past as is needed to protect them from damage. For exam ple, in May of this year, the tops of several cross-trees were cut down because they were thought to present a danger to drivers if they fell on the road. In response to land develop ment around sacred groves, followers of Estonia’s native belief systems have protested and even gone to court. Difficulty in negotiating these matters and caring for SNSs in Estonia stems from the way many of them have been wiped from common knowl edge. Many locations have been forgotten or lost as we lose older generations who once visited these sites. Under standably, people in search for work and housing may move to larger towns and away from the countryside and sacred sites visited by their ancestors. The massive cultural censorship and prohibition imposed on Esto nians throughout history have not made maintaining these traditions easy either, and have prevented the conservation of sacred sites from being con sidered a matter of religious freedom. The movement to stop de velopment of these natural sites bears resemblance to demon strations of the Wet’suwet’en Nation against the Coastal GasLink pipeline project. Land and nature are important to people for sustenance, health, and spirituality. Anyone who has enjoyed the peace of a forest walk, or a family cottage, or a refreshing swim in a lake, can attest to the importance of trees, land, and water. Building our society in accordance with those values is the right thing to do. On Jaanipäev, we sing, dance, cook, and light bonfires (if you are fortunate enough to have your own space to do so!). Enjoying and giving back to nature can be added to that list, too.
Justice minister opposes plans to build football hall by communism memorial ERR, June 2020
NOTICES: AGM Due to the COVID-19 emergen cy, the Toronto Estonian Scou ting Sponsors Association (TESS) Annual General Mee ting of Members has been postponed to the autumn. In the event that the Board of Directors decides that the AGM cannot (or should not) be held in its customary format before the end of October, it will pro ceed electronically in the month of November. Kotkajärve Due to the COVID-19 emer gency, all events scheduled at Camp Kotkajärve for the sum mer of 2020 have been can celled or postponed. All Camp buildings, facilities and infra structure are closed and under the care and maintenance of the responsible organizations. TESS family members who strictly observe governmental social distancing requirements are welcome to visit the proper ty for daytime recreational use – overnight camping and open fires of any kind are prohibited on Camp property until further notice – please follow all posted directions and news. We request that all members and sponsored organizations register by e-mail for updates and further notices – send an e-mail with your name and ad dress to: kotkajarve@gmail.com
Jaaniöö…
Justice minister Raivo Aeg (Isamaa) has hit out at plans to construct an indoor train ing hall for professional foot ball team Levadia, saying that its Maarjmäe site, in Tallinn, would be too close to the Memorial to the Victims of Communism. Aeg submitted a request to public administration minister Jaak Aab (Center), that the state real estate company Riigi Kinnisvara AS (RKAS), which owns the site, withdraw permis sion. An outdoor training site already exists in the location, but predates the original plans for the memorial, which was unveiled in 2018. Aeg told ERR Tuesday that his ministry, organizations con nected with commemorating victims of repression, and the architects of the memorial themselves, find a football hall being sited right next to it as inappropriate. “Football is in any case a noisy active sport by its very nature, and the two develop ments simply do not fit with each other. Our proposal is to find another place for the foot ball hall in Tallinn where there is no conflict with other build ings ahead,” said Aeg. The indoor football hall found its way to the design stage in 2014, before the me morial was even at the planning stage. How ever, Aeg noted in 2015 – by which time plans for the memorial were known – that the RKAS had failed to consult with the Ministry of Justice in agreeing to its de tailed plan. Minister of Public Ad ministration Jaak Aab (Center), however, said that it was not within Aeg’s remit to instruct a state body how to act, adding
that discussions were ongoing and a compromise was likely coming. “The Minister cannot instruct the RKAS to behave one way or another. Those involved can sit down and look for compro mises. This does not work, the Minister cannot instruct a stateowned company to make deci sions,” said Aab, adding that decisions are made by the RKAS management and council. Prior to the final approval of the detailed plan, the parties will have until June 29 to sub mit their final objections. According to Aeg, the last opportunity would be to chal lenge the decision at the first- tier administrative court level as well, but in his opinion, state authorities should not go to court against each other. Jaak Aab added that no sub stantive changes could be made to the plan either, though a solution may be found in co operation between city and planner, which, Aab said, should satisfy both the archi tects of the memorial and the Ministry of Justice. Tallinn deputy mayor: City will abide by RKAS’ will as owner Deputy Mayor of Tallinn Andrei Novikov (Center) told ERR that the properties in ques tion belong to the RKAS and that the city makes its planning decisions on the matter in line with that. “It is in the interest of the city to ensure a solution that is suitable for urban space, and in this respect we are also process ing the will of the owner so that it is guaranteed in a balanced way,” Novikov said, adding that normal urban planning criteria, including considerations that the hall be placed as far as pos sible from residential areas, had been taken on board.
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If you would like to try your hand at singing a regilaul your self, here is a wonderful re source of Estonian traditional music, and this link will take you to a Jaaniöö song with words, translation and notation. You can even hear how 74 year old Marie Sepp sang it in 1937 – imagine, she was born 1863! But how splendidly her singing and the words still resonate. h t t p : / / w w w. fo l k l o r e . e e / p u b t e / eraamat/rahvamuusika/en/021Tulge-tuld-hoidma
Tulge Jaaniku tulele, Jaani ku, Jaaniku; Tulge tulda hoidemaie, Jaaniku, Jaaniku; Tulge kirget kaitsemaie, Jaaniku, Jaaniku (Kolga-Jaani) Come to the St. John’s Bonfire, Jaaniku, Jaaniku; Come tend the fire, Jaaniku, Jaaniku; Leap to guard the flame, Jaaniku, Jaaniku (Kolga-Jaani) • “Tammealuse hiis” by Mana Kaasik, used under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license.
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KAJA PARMING WEEKS
Chinese phone giant Huawei founds new affiliate in Estonia ERR, June 2020 (Many Western governments have accused Huawei of assist ing the Chinese intelligence services by allowing its export ed cyber technologies to be used clandestinely. Ed.) Chinese technology company Huawei, which has received a controversial reputation during recent years, has registered a private limited company in Estonia, Huawei Technology Eesti, to continue supplying the consumer electronics and tele communication devices via local entrepreneurship. The private limited company, whose share capital stands at €300,000 and which employs 15 people, is taking over the activity of Huawei in Estonia. Head of the Huawei Tech nologies Eesti, Chang Bin, said:
“We are planning to grow all of the business segments of Huawei, which we can do best as an Estonian company bearing in mind the longterm expecta tions of the shareholders.” The company, which has been led by neighboring coun tries for 12 years, will get a fresh push due to the predicted development of the Estonian market, he added. “Together with Estonia’s uni versities and engineers, Huawei is planning to contribute to info technology and society,” Chang Bin said. “We are offering Estonia’s IT students new ex periences with the ‘Seeds of Future’ program, allowing them to study at the headquarters of Huawei in Shenzhen and in the science center in Beijing.” The Chinese Huawei Tech nologies manufactures telecom munication devices, consumer electronics and smartphones. Its 5G network has proved contro versial due to security concerns.
