Valts Ernštreits lecture “Indigenous peoples of Baltics – Livonians” and documentary “Julgi”

University of Tartu’s 102 Mothertounge Anniversary Lecture:

Valts Ernštreits will be giving an online lecture titled, “Indigenous peoples of Baltics – Livonians” which will be followed by a screening of the Liivo Niglas documentary “Julgi” (2005, 30 min) about the Livonian people. 

November 28th at 1 PM (EST)

The event will be held in Estonian.

Watch on the VEMU YouTube channel

Valts Ernštreits is a Latvian poet, translator, artist, and researcher at the University of Tartu. He teaches a course in Livonian Language and Culture at the University of Latvia, as well as in other universities in Germany and Finland, and is an author of multiple research publications.

Julgi (Liivo Niglas, 2005, 30 min) 

The Livonians were once a powerful nation living in today’s Western Latvia. Today only a few dozen people can speak Livonian. But the number of people who can sing in Livonian is much larger, increasing all the time. Is the nation alive if there are still people who can sing in its native language? Will the Livonians be able to preserve their individuality through singing, perhaps even achieve the rebirth of the nation? The film follows the life of a young Livonian singer Julgi Stalte at the crossroads of several languages and cultures. Julgi’s daily language is Latvian, but she sings mostly in Livonian. She speaks both Latvian and Estonian to her son (whose father is Estonian), but sings lullabies to him in Livonian. Perhaps here lies the key to how Livonians could survive as a nation.