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 Some of MeNaiset singers have carried out field trips in Olonets and Dvina Karelia (Viena Karelia, Archangel Karelia). In Dvina Karelia they have visited among others the villages of Jyskyjärvi, Kiestinki, Uhtua (currently called Kalevala, with Uhtua being the older - and the original - name) and Vuokkiniemi. There the folk song tradition lives mainly amongst individual singers and folklore groups, amongst whom Maari Kallberg, Anna-Kaisa Liedes, Maija Karhinen and Outi Pulkkinen have travelled, listening and recording their music. Agreat impression was left by the singer Maria Feodorova (1909 - 2000) whom Anna-Kaisa listened to and recorded in Feodorova´s native Uhtua. In Jyskyjärvi Maari followed the activities of a local folklore choir and interviewed the singers. In the same village Maari, who is well acquainted with Dvina Karelian yoik, has met with and learned a lot from a yoik singer called Helmi Rekina. Maari has also done fieldwork in Olonets Karelia, for instance in Vieljärvi in summer 2000 together with researchers from Petrozhavodsk. The field trips have broadened the MeNaiset members´ vision on the traditions of the kindred peoples in many ways. It has been important to understand the culture as a whole. It has made a huge impression to see the districts and the everyday life of the people amongst whom folk songs have survived and are still very much alive. It has also been of significant importance to see how singing has its role in the everyday life of a singer. For the people who know this singing tradition it is not a profession - as it is for the MeNaiset members - but merely a small part of their everyday life. The local singers keep the culture and the traditions up in many levels: they are active and remarkable people in the village life, and they are usually knowledgeable in many fields of tradition. It has also been valuable to hear the local languages. This has awakened the will to respect local traditions and languages while working on traditional poems and songs. |
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