Livonia
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LIVONIA
Coast
dwellers and fishermen more recently, the self-designation of the
language:
randakeel 'coastal language'. Nestor's Chronicle of the 12th
century calls the Livonians by the name
ëèáü
. The Latin names
Livonia, Livonicus,
Lyvones, Livoni, Lyvonia
were first used in the 13th century by Saxo
Grammaticus and Henrik the Lett. Originally Livonia designated the historic
Livonian territory on the east coast of the Gulf of Riga, then it denoted all
the lands conquered by the Teutonic Knights on the coast of the Baltic Sea,
later on the Baltic Province .
Habitat
Ancient Livonians lived in Livonia, the
area on the eastern coast of the Livonian Bay from the Vaina river
to the Estonian territory and in north Courland among the Courlanders.
Some researchers are of the opinion that the Livonian habitat in North Latvia
could have been wider. According to the chronicle of Henrik the Lett, the
Livonians lived at the estuary of the Väina, on the Koiva (Gauya) and in Salatsi
(Salaca).
Nowadays, there are only an insignificant number of Livonians, living in the
coastal villages of Northwest Courland and dispersed throughout Latvia
- Ventspils, Talsi, Riga.
Population
The earliest reliable data about the Livonians is from
Koeppen in 1835, when he numbers the Livonians as 2,074 persons. About 3,000
Livonians lived in 12 villages on the coast of Courland in 1860 . At the beginning
of the 20th century the number was 2,000. The
Livonians were not counted during the census of 1970. About 35 persons could
speak Livonian in 1990, 15 of them fluently. In addition there are a couple of
hundred people in Latvia who would like to identify themselves as Livonians.
Livonian Language
The Livonian language belongs to the Southern group of
Baltic-Finnic languages. It is assumed that the Livonians were the first to
break off from the common Baltic-Finnic community. The crucial problem of the
academic study of the Livonians has been their place of origin and migration.
Although the data has been controversial, the prevalent opinion is that the
original Livonian habitat is local.
By the 19th century the majority of Livonians had assimilated with the
Latvians. In North-Latvia the Livonian language had become obsolete by the
beginning of this century at the latest. The Livonian language of Courland has
branched into dialects: West Luzh or Luzhna and Piza or Mikeltorni, Transition
Ira or Lielirbe and East from Ukila or Jaunciems to Mustanumme or Melnsils.
The differences between the dialects are not great. The Livonian written
language is based on the East dialect but it has also been heavily influenced by
Latvian in vocabulary pronunciation and grammar.
Livonian History
The first written mention of the Livonians in Livonia dates
from the 11th century, and of the Courland Livonians from the middle of the 14th
century. In earlier sources the people of Courland were called
kurelased
and the term embraced the Baltic Kurs and the Baltic-Finnic Livonians.
The ancient Livonians were farmers, livestock-breeders and fishermen. As the
Livonians were settled beside a very important trade route -- the Vaina River
--, they had a remarkably well-developed material culture. The Livonians traded
busily with Gotland, Kievan Rus and Finland. In the middle of the 12th
century German merchants started to come to the Väina estuary. In 1201 Bishop
Albert founded the city of Riga on Livonian land. The crusaders defeated the
Livonians in 1206. Consequently, the Livonians had to take part in following
military campaigns, including against the Estonians. Latvian tribes (Latgals)
started to settle in the sparsely populated Livonian areas in the 13th century.
Gradually, the Livonians of Livonia became completely latvianized. A few
Livonian families remained living at Salatsi until the middle of the 19th
century, maybe even longer. There are many traces of the Livonian language in
Latvian place-names and in the Livonian dialects of Latvian. Livonian has not
completely disappeared from Courland, even today. The Livonians were able to
retain their identity as their life, based on fishing, was different from that
of the inland villages. In addition, the coastal Livonian settlements were cut
off by forests and marshlands. They had closer relations with the island of
Saaremaa. The Livonians established family ties with the people of Saaremaa. The
assimilation of Livonians and Courland only took hold in the 1960s. During World
War I the Livonians of Courland were in the way of the war. The German troops
occupied Courland in 1915 and the Livonians were forced to evacuate and leave
their villages. After the war many Livonians did not return.
Through the plebiscite of 1923, the Livonians tried to gain permission to
establish an ethnic parish but the Latvian government forbade it. However, their
culture made noticeable progress in the Latvian Republic. A choir was founded,
the Livonian Society created, and Livonian song festivals took place on the
Livonian coast of Courland. Livonian language became an optional subject in
schools in 1923. Teacher, Mart Lepste, used to ride on horseback from village to
village and teach Livonian to those who so wished. A national awakening and
desire to develop the Livonian ethnic culture was spurred by the movement to
promote closer ties among kindred people in Estonia and Finland in 1920--1930.
In 1939 a Livonian Community Centre opened its door at Irel on the Livonian
coast, sponsored by the larger kindred nations. All these achivements were
annulled with the beginning of World War II and during the following Soviet
occupation. Economic and cultural life practically ceased to exist. During the
war, just as it had been in World War I, the Livonians were evacuated from their
homes and some families fled to Sweden. The life of the Livonians who had
returned to their damaged homes changed radically. For instance, they could not
go fishing any more because a restricted zone had been established by the Soviet
border guard. The Livonians alike the other Baltic peoples suffered from the
deportations to Siberia in 1949. All ethnic culture was suppressed. The Livonian
Society was banned, the Livonian Community Centre given to others. Even in
Latvia Livonian national identity was not recognized. As a curiosity only one
registered Livonian lived in the coastal villages of Courland in 1989 (Kolka
Area). Livonian singers were only able to establish their group (Livlist) in
Riga and Ventspils at the beginning of the 1970s. When the liberalization of
Soviet society began in the second half of the 1980s, the Livonian Cultural
Society was founded in Latvia and since a number of people have taken up
Livonian in an attempt to revive the language
.
Livonian
Writing
Different Livonian orthographic systems have been created and
used. Printed matter in the Livonian language has been published on and off
since 1863. St. Matthew's Gospel in both East and West dialects was the first
book to appear. Three Baltic Finnic peoples had their own written languages
prior to that -- the Estonians, Finns and Karelians. The overall number of items
printed in Livonian amounts only to a couple of dozen: religious literature,
calendars, readers, collections of poetry and a hectographed monthly
Livli (1931--1939). The creators of Livonian literary language have tried
to develop and unify the spelling and enrich the vocabulary, deliberately
avoiding Latvian elements in the lexis. In 1935 P. Damberg, a Livonian teacher
and man of culture, compiled the first Livonian reader. There are other
intellectuals of Livonian descent who have put considerable effort into the
preservation of the Livonian language and culture (poet K. Stalte, conductor and
singer Hilda Cerbach-Griva). After World War II the number of Livonians has
decreased to such an extent that a language community able to sustain Livonian
literary language has ceased to exist.
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