Why Tormis? In discussing the spirit of the Estonian we can speak of five thousand years of being on the face of this earth, of a harsh history of domination by different oppressors, of ninety years of existence as a nation and of a peaceful diligence of dignity. We speak of the scars on the soul of the people, we can point to the majesty of having managed to survive, the beauty of collective creation and the desire to maintain this knowledge and transmit it to future generations. There is something static in the Estonian soul, which does not let its inner metronome be perturbed by random gusts of wind; rather it ticks away to the beat of the land, the sea, and the forests. An eternal meditative spirit and an ancient simplicity are to found in these rhythmic repetitions, which were passed on to our day by the anonymous memory of our ancestors. That, which expresses the being of this people, their character, their convictions and beliefs, that, which is unique to just this spot and this people, this is the only thing that is of any interest and possessed of any value to the world. There is sense in conveying just this, so that what will end up being cooked in the kettle of global culture during this epoch of homogenisation won’t be some uniform grey swill. And can there be a more inspired conveyer of culture then a composer, whose creative production is based on the archaic songs of his own people; than an author, whose works and thoughts are worthy of being disseminated in printed form over the globe, which would be of interest to peoples of other manners of thought |
Illu Erma Estonian Leatherwork Artists' Union member of the Board |
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