Mäetagused (Apr 2009)
Rahvatantsuharrastus paguluseestlaste hulgas ja selle roll eestluse säilimisel
Abstract
The current article is based on the research carried out among expatriate Estonians living in Germany. The aim of the research was to obtain an general understanding of the evolution and development of Estonian folk dance groups and the inception of these groups in the Federal Republic of Germany after the Second World War. The first target group was the Estonian expatriates in Germany, since German war refugee camps were the first stop for many refugees on their journey. Interviews were conducted with 13 expatriate Estonians in Bocholt, Bonn and Hamburg in 2007. The study attempts to answer the following questions: What gave rise to such active hobby activities, including the establishment of folk dance groups, in German refugee camps? Why were these groups formed also in different places in Germany later, after people had left the refugee camps? What could be the main reasons for and the general context of such a phenomenon?The article describes the motives for practicing folk dancing as a hobby, the everyday activities of folk dance groups – repertoire, practicing, music, folk costumes and performances, what has become of the folk dance groups since their establishment and the role of folk dance in the life of expatriate Estonians. Aside from the previous aspects, the functions which describe the role of folk dance – preservation of continuity; organisation of community; social interaction and welfare; preservation of Estonian language; self-determination – also stood out in the analysis of the interviews. Cultural pursuits formed a positive link between the past and the present, taking on a balancing role in the tragic understanding that seeking temporary asylum had become a constant state in exile and this prevented people from being trapped in the disconsolate condition of a refugee. Folk dance was not purely a hobby but a place where the Estonian language was spoken and learned; it helped people to stick together in difficult times, define themselves in the wind of changes and introduce Estonia in a foreign country by means of dance and folk costumes.
