Thursday, July 24

Access to the workshops is on a first-come, first-served basis, until all spots are filled. Latecomers will not be admitted.

Ööülikool (Night University) unplugged: “Off the ground. Let me go, let me go..."/ Marju Kõivupuu
Theatre TEMUFI hall (Tartu 9)
THU 24.07 at 20.00

The days are long gone when funeral processions moved solemnly by horse-drawn carriage, slowly making their way from a village home to the cemetery. As they approached a nearby farm or settlement, voices would rise in song, announcing to the community that someone was on their final journey. The abundance of funeral songs lives on in old, yellowed song sheets passed down from relatives, some with religious, others with secular lyrics. Songs were sung in church, at the graveside, and around the funeral feast table. By the end of the gathering, the songs could even be quite cheerful. Today, a synthesizer often plays at funerals, and now and then, an elder, who still remembers the old refrains, joins the officiant in a duet. The solemn hymns of the past have given way to the favourite songs of the departed, played softly from recordings, echoing memories rather than traditions.

Funeral singing remains part of our cultural heritage, let’s talk about it and perhaps lift our voices in a melody. For those who have long been gone, and those still on the road ...

Cultural historian and folklorist Marju Kõivupuu has long explored cultural heritage in its broadest sense. But through the decades, she has been especially drawn the death culture among Estonians and other peoples.