During Tallinn's recent Old Town Days, representatives of the national communities living in Estonia also introduced the traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. Hundreds of dancers, singers and musicians from Tallinn and Harju County, as well as from Ida-Viru County and Saare County, performed on a stage dedicated to the Cultural Diversity Year.
Over three days, representatives of almost 30 Estonian communities presented their cultures to the residents and guests of the capital. Songs and dances both from ancestors and those dating from more modern times, folk costumes and instruments, melodies and languages – all highlighted not only Seto and island culture, but also, for example, Latvian, Finnish, Erzya, Ukrainian, Jewish, Udmurt, Chuvash, Mordva, Bashkir, Azerbaijani, Turkish, Belarusian, Kazakh, Korean, Moroccan and Polish cultures in all their glory.
The Cultural Diversity Year working group opened a stage that united communities in the Commandant’s Garden near Kiek in de Kök. More than 40 different cultural societies came together in Tallinn from Alutaguse, Jõhvi, Kohtla-Järve, Narva, Orissaare and Tallinn, as well as other places in Harju County, Ida-Viru County and Saare County. All these societies are brought together primarily by the Estonian Union of National Societies, the Union of National Cultural Societies ”Lyre” and the Estonian Folk Culture Centre.
The Cultural Diversity Year is a theme year that takes place under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and the Integration Foundation with the aim of celebrating the diversity of the cultures of Estonian communities and the peoples living in Estonia.
Photos: https://photos.google.com/u/1/album/AF1QipPdDtccfcjktMYCuTXwyNJooSmcXBhQOZEFUh4P (author – Integratsiooni Sihtasutus/ Mats Õun)
