Presentation Aleksanr Zraev

1.

Estonian traditional folk culture
Presentation Aleksanr Zraev
Info: www.estonica.org

2.

Folk costume
Earlier data about clothes date from the 11th–13th century
archaeological material. The chief items of female clothong were a
linen shirt with sleeves and a woollen shirt-like coat. A woollen
wrap-skirt was wrapped round the hips and fastened with a belt. This
type of clothing survived until the 19th century.
Clothes were generally divided into three parts:
festive clothes which were worn only on festive occasions and were
handed down from generation to generation;
visiting clothes for errands, business and visits of less festive nature;
working clothes which were worn every day and which were made
of poorer material and without decorations; sometimes old visiting
clothes were used.

3.

Southern Estonia

4.

Northern Estonia

5.

Western Estonia

6.

Islands
Island
s

7.

Death
➲Death,
being a sorrowful and inevitable event, lead to people
trying to identify different omens of death.
➲The
dead body, together with straw, was placed on a ladder
or a bier made of boards and washed clean. The bath whisk
and soap used for washing were later put in the coffin, the
water was poured out in a place where no one ever went. The
straw and the bier were burned. Burial garments were white.
While the dead body was still in the house, nothing could be
taken out of the house, as this might cause accidents. The
dead body could not be left alone and it was guarded at nights.
Traditional food for watchers of the dead body were peas and
beans boiled with salt. When the body was placed in the coffin,
it was necessary to make sure that tears did not fall into the
coffin, otherwise death would draw the mourner in as well.
One or several coins were always put in the coffin together

8.

Wedding
➲The
most common time to have a wedding was in late
autumn or in winter (until February). In autumn the farms were
at their wealthiest and there were no tasks requiring immediate
attention. One would never have the wedding during the old
moon. It was believed that the new moon promoted fertility,
and brought good luck and good health. If the marriage
proposal was made during the new moon, the wife would
remain young for a long time; if the proposal was made during
the old moon then she would become old and wrinkled very
quickly.