From August 11 to 16, the annual expedition of traditional culture and oral history of the Faculty of Humanities (HZF) of the University of Latvia (LU) takes place under the scientific leadership of Professor Janīnas Kursīte.South Kurzeme was chosen as the venue this year, focusing on the vicinity of Aizpute - Cīrava - Kazdanga - Valtaiķi.
Scientific expeditions of researchers in the field of folklore studies of the University of Latvia and students interested in folklore have been taking place for more than 20 years.In recent years, the attention of researchers has been focused on field studies in Latgale (Upper Daugava, Līvānu, Preiļu, Balvu counties).The achievements resulted in the collections of scientific articles "Daugavpils region. The value of a place" (Riga: LU Academic Press, 2018) and "Expedition gate: Līvāni, Preiļi, Balvi" (in preparation).This year, the researchers are returning to their original field of research - Kurzeme (see previously published collections "Diždundaga. Apcerjejumi par Dundagas novadu" (2017), "Suitu identitāte" (2005) and other publications. The Riga Art and Media Colleges will also join the LU research group on the expedition budding videographers to record the progress of the expedition in video footage.
The purpose of the expedition is to document the intangible cultural heritage of the Southern Kurzeme (Aizpute – Cīrava – Kazdanga – Valtaiķi) area: to identify the stories of places and events, especially in connection with the German-Baltic people who lived here during the pre-war period, who lived in this area until 1939. Latvians from Vidzeme and Latgale settled in the empty houses after their departure to Germany, at the end of the war - also those who could not flee across the sea to Sweden.
Expedition participants are interested in local stories about the surrounding manors in Cīrava, Aizpute, Kazdanga; stories of local monuments; Kazdanga's relationship with the artists Vilhelms Purvītis, Johans Valters, with the poet Imants Ziedonis; everything related to the history of the region, as well as the life stories of the people of the region. From the very beginning, the folklorist expeditions of the University of Latvia take place in cooperation with oral history researchers, and all life story interviews recorded during the expeditions will be transferred to the National Oral History Archive of the University of Latvia after the expedition.
Photo: University of Latvia