Dr.
Tiina Peil
Department
of Human Geography
The paper presents an outsider’s view on the historical evolution of landscape and community on Osmussaar. Local community was uprooted from its setting more than fifty years ago, but it is argued that previous to the Second World War the physical environment and the people constituted a specific unity which constituent parts are examined. The final section gives voice to the islanders for interpreting the culturally and historically specific character of the island. This may offer a way to express the continuity of past and present in otherwise totally changed environment.
Key words: settlement history, island community, locality
Earlier research on the Estonian smaller islands has mainly been concerned with the natural environment and undertaken by botanists, ornithologists and physical geographers. Social aspects - from populations to politics, from health hazards to aesthetic experiences - have rarely been studied in the post-war years. Islands do, however, offer a good possibility for studying societal processes, not least thanks to their small size and ‘natural’ borders. Islands are also interesting because they represent a peripheral area, outside direct influence of central powers, but still, due to their geographical situation by the sea-ways, open to the influx of ideas and cultural impulses from a wide area. The present paper aims at analysing the construction of island community and the role that the physical environment has in it. Community is here seen as both a physical setting for social relations (place) and a morally valued way of life as Calhoun (1980) has used the term, examined here by applying the agenda set by Cohen in his studies of Whalsay, Shetland (1987) and of community in general (1989).
The
Estonian Swedish community on Osmussaar[1] goes back to the fourteenth century, but
sparse source material allows a detailed examination from the eighteenth
century onwards. A break in the historical development occurred in the 1940s
when the people were evacuated from their home island and they gradually left
for
2. The setting: the
Island landscapes are basically formed by prevailing physical conditions that influence the actions of human beings. The obvious limits set by the small area and low altitude of the islands, as well as its distance from the mainland have to be taken into account. The sea and the needs of seafaring had a considerable importance in island life. The dual livelihood of the fisherman-farmer was the main factor in forming its environment. Still, the state interests were expressed in the island landscape in the form of lighthouses, pilot and border guard stations, and in island life offering other livelihoods for the islanders beside these gained from agriculture and fishing.
Photo 1. The lighthouse (Måjaken) on Osmussaar (ERM: Gustav Vilbaste, 1933).
Little is known of the early influences of seafaring on Osmussaar. It is supposed that the earliest settlers were pilots (Johansen 1951; also the popular belief of the islanders) and piloting as well as shipwrecks remained an important source of subsistence for the local people throughout the settlement period. The first lighthouse (gal-måjaken) was built on Osmussaar in 1765 on the northern coast. The danger of it falling into the sea became real in the mid-nineteenth century, for instance Eichwald (1840; cited in Pôlma) describes a stone building situated only two fathoms (4.2 metres) away from the shoreline. A new lighthouse (Photo 1) was built in 1850 and it remained in use until 1941 when the evacuating Soviet garrison demolished most of the buildings on the island totally destroying the lighthouse settlement.
The
coastline of Osmussaar is generally unbroken except in the south where the most
suitable places for establishing harbours could be found, although the island
is surrounded by numerous cliffs and underwater ridges making landing
complicated. Furthermore, seashore regression by the rate of three millimetres
per year (Zhelnin 1958; Vallner et al.
1988) has caused constant growth of the island in the south eastern direction
and has constantly altered the coastline (Figure 1).
For symbols see Figure 2.
Figure 1. Changes in island configuration, based on various maps and charts (ERA: f.2042 n.1 s.c1309s; s.c620s and s.c18s; Estonian Map Centre).
Two
peninsulas in the south-east formed the main harbour place (Storhamne). The older harbour (Minsia) on the opposite coast was
abandoned in 1902. An earlier landing was situated north of Skånvike and the primary harbour of the
sixteenth century was believed to have been close to the chapel indicated by
the survival of the name of Hamndaln
(harbour valley). The building of a chapel on the island had been initiated by
the seafarers in the sixteenth century (Ederma and Jaik 1939: 135). The stone
chapel (Jesu Kapell; Kapple) was
consecrated in 1766. The figurehead (galjon)
Martin Luther of a British ship that
sank near the island in 1852 was placed on the church-yard gate becoming the
most well-known island feature (Photo 2).
Photo 2. The Jesu Kapell on Osmussaar with the galjon Martin Luther on the gate
(private collection: photographer unknown, 1937).
The different coasts had a special role in the yearly fishing
schedule[3].
The main fishing harbour and net-drying yard - Pålande - was situated closest to the village on the southern
coast (Sånna sia). The north-eastern
(Norda sia) coast was higher with
steep limestone cliff with only one harbour (Askom) established in 1917 (Photo 3). Generally, the boats were
dragged to land, but the emergence of bigger ships on the island resulted in
construction of jetties: the first was built in 1918 on Boan; the second one by the lighthouse in the 1930s. Both quays
have been destroyed by ice and storms.
Photo 3. Askom with cod fishing boats dragged to land (private coll.: Sven Rabe, 1926).
Figure 2. The
Osmussaar (Figure 2) being of low altitude above sea level
(up to seven metres at present) and consisting of poor limestone bedrock with
only a thin soil layer (Öpik 1927) has been rather uniform in its general
appearance. Abundant coastal ridges (backan)
are separated from each other by depression areas (dappen, daln). The
central ridge Storbackan stretches
over the whole island, but it had different names in different parts after the
landmarks in its vicinity. Small lakes and marshlands (kärre) had formed in the lower parts, ditches (dike, ränna) were dug in some cases to lead the excess water away
and expand the meadow. Only one of the lakes (Lihlhamne) had fresh water appreciated since the island wells
tended to dry out during the summers.
The main part of the island was covered by a sparsely
vegetated meadow, which, nevertheless, was rich in plant species (Eklund 1936)
used primarily as grazing land. This was divided into two segments: the eastern
(Estorvaln) and the western (Västorvaln) grazing area used
alternately. No mention of woodland can be found in the recorded island
history. A grove of deciduous trees (Låmboskoen)
grew in the meadow north-west of the village, another (Galsveskoen) south-east of it. Generally big trees, mainly ashes,
were so rare that each had its own name, for example Adam och Eva in the southern part of the island, as well as all of
the trees in the village area. The trees were important landmarks used for
orientation at sea while fishing.
Island
arable was composed of three main plots - Tomgjarda,
Spitargjarda, Dirgjarda - surrounding the village in all directions but the
south. The fourth field was situated by the schoolhouse west of the village (Dicksbackssve) and the fifth on the
eastern coast (Svearna). Hagar
supposed that the fields and the village area were surveyed at the end of the
seventeenth century without any later changes[4].
A re-allotment of plots was certainly complicated, since the quality of land
varied so much that an equal division into compact fields was considered
impossible by the islanders. Consequently, all the farms had narrow parcels in
all of the fields, which were marked with stones (mila-stainar) and sticks (pålar)
bearing the family sign. The subdivision of farms caused no physical
re-allocation, the existing parcels simply changed owners, and thus every
fourteenth instead of the seventh strip in every field was now farmed by one
family. The exception was the Brus’ farm which was divided between three
brothers, and the Nibondas’ and Marks’ farms which remained in their original
size[5].
Only a small part of each enclosure was cultivated, the actual fields were
surrounded by hay-meadow, which was divided between the farms in a similar way.
These strips could be so narrow that it was possible to cut the grass with a
single stroke. Mowing on the neighbour’s strip resulted in the most bitter
disputes in island life. Generally all suitable land had been taken under cultivation
by the mid-nineteenth century. A few attempts were made to break new land for
growing potatoes in the last fifty years of continuous settlement. For
instance, in 1905 part of the land on the southern tip of the island was
claimed, but the potato did not succeed (Stenkrös
and Minse tufolgårdn); other such
plots were Gullsmen south of the
chapel and Nurbana close to the
lighthouse[6].
Photo 4. The village seen from the south. The windmills had been part of the island landscape for over two hundred years. According to the island tradition there were always two windmills: fjurmans-kåine maintained by the Brus’, Stavas’, Niggors’ and Erkas’ farms closer to the camera and trimans-kåine of the Marks’, Nibondas’ and Greis’ farms facing the village. On the right, the cottages of Viktor and Janne Brus; the buildings of the Niggors’ Nilae had not yet been constructed (ERM: Gustav Vilbaste, 1933).
The
village Bien (Photo 4) was situated
in the central part of the island, a little closer to the north-eastern tip.
The houses were situated around the main road (Hammonsvägen) following the primary ridge from the harbour in
south-west and continuing up to the lighthouse (Måjaksvägen) on the north western tip of the island. The road
forked east of the village, merging again on the western side closing in three
of the farms; further three farms were situated south-west of the southern
disjunction, Västor gatna, and the
seventh farm was situated north of the second road, Norda gatna or Stavas gatna.
Figure 3. The plan of the village on
Osmussaar in the 1930s, based on the
island map (EAA: f.3724 n.4 s.695) and plans drawn by Ingvald Dyrberg after
information from the islanders.
The
Photo 5. The Brus’ farm as seen from the Nibondas’ ladder (SOFI: Sven Rabe, 1926).
All
of the island farms had similar construction illustrated by the Brus’ farm
(Figure 4 and Photo 5). The dwelling (stu-rae)
represented the long-house type, although the threshing barn (ri-rae), the byre (boskas-rae), pigsty (svin-huse) and stable (oge-stalle)
were located in separate buildings, they were all built on the same line. The
number of sheds (mäl-huse, fisk-huse)
doubled with the subdivision of the farm, but the sauna (basta) and the smithy (smia)
as well as the threshing barn were shared. Summerhouses (spikan; nea-huse), where the family spent the warmer six months,
were common in the Estonian Swedish settlements. In principle, each grown
family member had a room. Separate curing houses (räck-keka) were built when chimneys were constructed in the
mid-nineteenth century. Another interesting building detail that all of the
farms had were the looking posts that consisted of a simple ladder (stor-stea) by one of the gables. The
arrangement was introduced when the islanders had the pilot duty to observe the
passing ships, but the ladder was later used to trace seals around the island.
Figure 4. Brus farm in the 1930s, based on the map of 1911 (EAA: f.3724 n.4
s.695), on a farm plans drawn by Ingvald Dyrberg after information gained from
Ella Lindberg (Brus) in 1988 and by Elmar Lepp (ERM: EJ139: 7) in 1940. A
sketch and descriptions by Julius Brus (SOFI: 17774, 25667) were used for the
spelling of the Estonian Swedish names of the buildings.
All
farm-yards were surrounded by stone walls and had similar allotments. The byre,
stable and pigsty were located around a separate yard Näggådn that opened directly to the village road. The segment north
of the dwelling was called Nordagådn and
the southern part Sånnagådn. Other
allotments were often called Rigådn
and Lihlgådn and used as hay meadows.
3.
The players
The
time for the colonisation of the island is unknown, but a settler on the island
is mentioned in the fifteenth century (Johansen 1951: 248). Only little is
known of their origin: based on the analysis of place names Lagman (1955, 1964)
assumes that the settlers came from Gotland and
The
number of farms in early documents varies considerably, the island population
having suffered from several onslaughts of epidemics; for instance in the early
seventeenth century only two farms had been inhabited[9].
The plague epidemic of 1710 was severe that according to the popular stories
only a few people had survived. The story of severe loss of human life on the
island is supported by the Noarootsi (Nuckö) parish register that records over
sixty deaths on the island in November and December of 1710[10].
Re-colonisation occurred immediately and several marriages and children born on
the island are recorded in the following years. In 1726 already five households
are registered living on the island (Kähr and Naaber 1990: 133-4).
The
first island born children had their god-parents mostly from Spitham, Rooslepa
and Tuksi indicating that the settlers had a strong connection with these
areas. The re-colonisation pattern is, however, vague and it is impossible to
conclude on the principles by which the empty farms became inhabited, or on the
reasons why some of the farms were abandoned while others were moved.
Island
population may be surveyed almost completely from the eighteenth century up to
1943/4, when the islanders left for
Figure 5. Kinship among the island families,
based on the parish records (EAA: f.3169
n.1 s.1-4; 23-29); census data (f.1864 n.2 s.VII-156; s.IX-168; s.X-343),
municipality records (ERA: f.2382 n.1 s.12, s.118), and on ethnographic
material (NM: E.U.43130 and SOFI: 21649) organised with the help of the kinship
research programme Holger6.
The families were big: the traditional storfamilj (extended family) existed up to the evacuation with
several generations each represented by several siblings living under the same
roof. Traditionally, the oldest son inherited the right (besittningsrätt) to decide over the farm maintenance becoming bon. The brothers and sisters as well as
other relatives living on the farm (bakom
folke) got food and clothes for working, but had no say in the maintenance
decisions. In cases when the oldest son was childless or had some handicap, the
farm was maintained by a younger brother and in a few cases by an in-marrying
husband. This was the reason why the family names no longer were identical with
the farm names in the 1930s. Alfred Brus was the head of the family at Nibondas
taking over after Gustav Krusman who was the first in-marrying husband in 1891,
and Sven Marks at Greis’ Galae. More complicated manoeuvres for granting the
farm survival was ventured when no obvious male heir could be found in the
immediate family circle. One recorded example occurred on the Niggors’ farm
which went to the Westerblom family in the 1830s. Hinrik Westerblom was a
brother of Mari Niggors and he had worked as a farm hand on the island. He
married an island girl (Eva Greis) and was thus found to be a suitable heir
when the couple remained childless[12].
The everyday names kept up the old tradition of calling the master after the
farm, for instance Sven Marks was called Grais
Sven on the island. The opposite, calling the farm after the farmer could
occur in official documents where the Nibondas’ farm is occasionally called
Brus’ and the Niggors’ farm Westerblom’s.
Large
island families were often solvent concerning work force, although hiring help
over summer was common, especially on Erkas’, Nibondas’ and Stavas’ farms. The
maids and farm hands came from the Swedish villages on the Estonian mainland
and were often distant relations of the islanders. Many married on the island
guaranteeing close relations with the mainland and a supply of relatives to
help out on the island farms. The whole island population thus belonged to the
seven principal families[13].
Historically,
the exception was the lighthouse crew that consisted of foreigners not only in
a sense that the men were from outside the island, but also literally they
belonged to other ethnic groups being Russians, Germans, or Estonians. At least
five men were occupied at the lighthouse at all times. The crew had been larger
in the eighteenth century, but had consisted of unmarried men. The settlement
became more permanent when their families followed the men to the island. Hence
the lighthouse supported a colony of fifteen to twenty people[14].
Local men were appointed as help (måjaksbrännare)
in the nineteenth century, but were increasingly replaced by qualified workers.
This provided a full-time profession to local men[15].
The lighthouse settlement was thus integrated into the island community,
especially after the school was re-opened on a regular basis after the First
World War[16].
The
school was first founded in 1883, but worked only for ten years then; a second
attempt was made in 1910, but due to the state of the school building and the
oncoming war it was soon closed again. The first two school teachers both got a
place named after them: Johan Nymann, the first sexton and teacher used a plot
for pasture at Svearna which was
called Nymanns vall[17] after him; the second one, Johannes Dahl found
a new cod fishing spot which wherefore got called Dahls gate (hollow) (Aman 1992). Johannes Dans worked on the island
the longest and was replaced by Thomas Gärdström in 1936. He did not like life
on the island and disappeared for long periods to the mainland or drinking
heavily so that he was unable to teach. His descriptions of the island life in
the 1930s are marginally different from those of the islanders, although he has
completed a valuable task in recording the personal histories and folk
traditions[18].
The
population on Osmussaar continued exceptionally for the Estonian islands to
increase well into the 1930s. The highest recorded population number (119)
appears in the census of 1934 (Tammekann 1961). Emigration exceeded natural
increase only in the last decade of continuous settlement as many young people
had left for work in
4.
The play: life on the islands
The
isolated location of the islands generally gave the people living there greater
freedom in organising their every-day life. The island population was
personally free and thus had no obligations to the manor on daily basis. The bondas folke (the farmer and his wife)
were, however, not owners of the farm in the modern sense of the word, since
they could not sell it. The islanders never claimed the property right to the
island land due to their faith in the continuity of ancient tenure and heritage
rights. They succeeded in maintaining their independence until the twentieth
century, but the island was sold behind their back to one estate owner, Nicolai
Neufeldt for 15,000 roubles in 1903[20].
New lease conditions were negotiated with the islanders who, however, refused
the increase and managed to keep their old contract based on their right
established in the charter of Queen Christina of
The
historical charter subjected the islanders only to a comparatively small tax
paid in fish and salt[22].
The amount was set for the whole island and divided locally. Although the tax
increased heavily in the nineteenth century, it never exhausted the island
families of their resources. The absence of serfdom and the freedom of the sea
have been seen as the basis for higher standard of living on the island by many
authors (Engström 1905; Eklund 1936; End 1939); the islanders were described by
Sven Danell (1979) as the nobility of Estonian Swedes. The distinctive quality
of their life was recognised by the islanders themselves, for instance Johannes
Erkas (1882-1956) is reported to say[23],
that already at the beginning of the century they could live as they wished,
not as they had to which was very rare for the Estonian fisherman communities.
The main reason for their success was that the island economy was based upon a
domestic division of labour, which was oriented to the exploitation of multiple
sources of subsistence.
4.1.
The sea
Large
part of the islanders’ livelihood was dependent on the sea coming from fishing
and trading. The first reports on the islanders’ ventures outside the vicinity
of the island originate from the 1850s when they reportedly sailed to fetch
salt from
The
increase of small transport vessels in the
Photo 6. The quay by the lighthouse; the men loading the Wasa with scrap iron in the 1930s (NM: photographer and exact date unknown).
Around
the year 1900 started the trade with scrap iron, which lasted until the First
World War and caused the cessation of trade in foodstuffs. It was never
abandoned completely constituting an additional source of income (Photo 6). The
first venture on this field was made in the 1890s when the islanders bought the
wreck of the British ship the Delta
and sold it piece by piece in
The
expansion in fishing for sprat engaged an increasing number of island men in
the early twentieth century who slowly abandoned other activities. 1902 marks
the start of a final period in island history characterised by an economy that
increasingly focused on fishing and marketing the catch. The boats used while
fishing around the island were small, rowed by one or two men. The first motor
boat on the island was built by Johannes Erkas in 1911[26],
but they became more common only in the 1930s illustrated fishery statistics
where two motor boats (47 sailing boats and three ships) are recorded on
Osmussaar in 1932, eleven (53 rowing-boats) in 1937 and thirteen a year later[27].
Nets
were widely used for fishing Baltic herring, flounder, whitefish and sprat,
they thus were the most numerous equipment on the island farms each family
owning about twenty to thirty nets. Flounder had been an important fish on the
islanders’ daily menu for as long as people could remember. Its worth for the
islanders is expressed in the tradition of every family member, including the
small children, having had a private flounder net (ogo-net). The fish from this net was marked with the person’s own
special stamp on the beach and the catch could be disposed over privately. A
common habit was to exchange the fish for nuts at Christmas time. Sprat became
the most important trade article for about two decades in the early twentieth
century. It was replaced by cod in the 1930s while sprat disappeared from the
Estonian fishing waters.
Cod
was not appreciated by the fishermen in the nineteenth century. Its market was
limited, only the mainland inns bought a pair or two occasionally. The business
of transporting the salted cod to
Photo 7. Cutting cod in the 1930s (ERM: Gustav Vilbaste, 1933).
Hagar
means that the modernisation of the fishing methods, the use of long-lines with
several thousand hooks, and therefore of the island life can be traced back to
the success of cod fishing[28].
Its influence was, however, limited, since the market for cod was small and its
price was low, for instance three sents per kilogram in the 1937. Cod therefore
became important in island economy just before the Second World War and in the
war years, although the catch increased dramatically in the 1930s when the
yearly yield was around 170 barrels of salted cod; one barrel holding about 120
kilograms fish (Photo 7). In 1938, Arvo End started experimenting on Osmussaar
with drying cod and making cod-liver oil according to the methods he had
acquired in the Lofoten,
4.2.
The land
Agricultural
production and activity remained at a subsistence level and lagged behind while
the fisheries expanded in the twentieth century. Nevertheless, agriculture was
an important additional source of subsistence in all of the farms and was
presented as the main source by two farmers according to the 1939 census[30].
The
locally grown cereal crops were seldom adequate, and to be supplemented by
imports from the mainland each year. The three plots (trinings) constituted each one part of the three field rotation
system: sown with rye, barley, or left fallow. Certain alterations were made
when potato cultivation increased in the second half of the nineteenth century.
The area under rye remained the largest constituting one third of the arable
per farm. Potatoes and barley each accounted for one sixth of the field area as
the plot sown in the spring was divided into two: one for barley, the other for
potato cultivation. The remaining two fields built an independent unit each;
that is, all three rotating stages were present each year. In the twentieth
century the area was divided between barley and potatoes (no fallow or rye).
Potatoes were grown on Svearna in the
1930s. A few attempts were made to cultivate oats, but it was not a regular
venture.
Household
vegetables were not grown except cabbage which had a long history on the island.
Some place names indicate an early introduction of cabbage, for instance a plot
near Niggors’ farm was called Niggors’
kålgård (cabbage plot), although the informants who were born in the 1870s
did not remember their parents or grandparents ever mentioning cabbage growing
on that particular plot[31].
The joint cabbage yard was then situated north of the village where each farm
had three drills of cabbage. Carrots were introduced only in the 1930s, but no
other vegetables were ever mentioned.
The
island hay-fields were small and the vegetation on pasture poor. There was a
lack of fodder for the cattle and the milk production was low at the earlier
times. The islanders often had to dilute the milk to make it last, and before
special fodder crops were introduced, the people of Osmussaar were totally
without milk in early spring. Cattle was rarely sold, but smoked meat was an
island delicacy, sometimes sold at the mainland markets. Sheep thrived on the
island and were important for getting wool and fleece as well as meat, their
milk was also used. The local breed of pigs had died out at the turn of the
last century after which a couple of piglets were bought each year on the
mainland fairs. No pigs were kept over winter. Another great change in the
twentieth century was that the horses replaced oxen in the agricultural work.
The
lack of forests and therefore of building materials and firewood was the main
deficiency in island economy. The purchase of timber varied from farm to farm
and from year to year; the mean amount spent yearly in the twentieth century
was between 25 to 30 kroons[32].
The lack of firewood was compensated in many ways by applying local resources.
Juniper shrubs were yearly cut on pasture lands, but the best source for timber
locally was the sea. The combing of beaches for wreck-wood supplied the island
farms with material to repair and sometimes to erect whole buildings. The
inside walls were covered by fabric gained the same source before wall-paper
became common. More unusual objects such as grandfather clocks and tin kettles
were found and made use of in the island households. The islanders had an
interesting arrangement with beach combing: everything found was divided into
equal shares, but as there often was not enough for every farm, the finds were
kept in a shed especially built for the purpose (Magasi) until more of the same sort drifted ashore and everybody
could get their share.
Quicker
transport possibilities and growing connections with the towns on the mainland
as well as better economy in
5.
The players in the setting: the island community
Community
at the local, the lowest level may be seen as an entity, a reality, invested
with all the sentiment attached to kinship, friendship, neighbouring, rivalry,
familiarity, and jealousy. Local community seems to imply simultaneously both
similarity (something in common) and difference (distinguishing from others) as
suggested by Cohen (1989). In case of the islanders of Osmussaar, it was
important for them to maintain the old connections to and mutual history with
Ja namnen från
den gamla Nordiska Gudens hålme Odinsholm. Ja kanske de som ha flyttat dit ha
fört namnet med sig då. Det är lång tid sedan... Där på Odinsholm fanns en mycket stor sten
som hette Odens sten. Och jämte samma sten fanns en grop eller rättare sagt lik
ett människospår som inte växte någon tårva på. Och sades vare Odens spår...
Och vidare sades det att han hade skrivet med sin Storton på en annan sten som
hade djupa skrevor å strek på sig, sades vara hans Tånskrift... Men det är sannerligen saga[33].
The
islanders looked upon themselves as a specific group, different from other
villages on the mainland and especially on other islands. A strong sense of
identification with their home island and its people is evident in their
stories. Other islanders were seen as family members and a lot of work was
carried out simultaneously, neighbours helping each other if needed. The men
referred to themselves as to von bakse
(us on our slope). This is not to
indicate that the people thought of themselves as all alike, but they presented
a united front to the outside world professing similar features and claiming to
know the suitable way of organising life on the island. Differentiation among
the island community was evident, but it was not based on material or any
clearly defined outward differences. Rather some families were looked upon as
innovators and successful fishermen and others more backward, sticking to old
superstitions and more helpless in sustaining their livelihood. Every family
was prescribed certain features which were used to explain their actions or
non-action in some cases. Status was claimed through possessing the post of the
village lay chaplain. It can foremost be connected with two families - Stavas
and Erkas - the heads of whose were, not surprisingly, most often asked for
advice[34].
At the same time a post of village elder was filled very democratically as it
moved from farm to farm, although only the farmer could fill the post. The
obligation of being the village elder mainly concerned getting information at
the municipality and conveying it to others. The transport of goods to the
lighthouse from the docked ships had to be organised as well as reparation of
the boundary walls of which each farm was responsible for maintaining a certain
stretch[35].
Most of the village matters were decided upon collectively and each farm had a
say in village matters. Meetings were called more or less spontaneously when
something extraordinary needed discussing, since most of the work was carried
out according to old traditions and at a known time. The yearly work schedule
in the fields was the same for every farm, although everybody worked on their
own plots. However, if somebody did not manage to keep up, she was helped along
by others. All the bigger ventures: ploughing, manure hauling, sowing,
harvesting and even beach combing and repair works on the roads and stone walls
as well as fetching of fishing nets, were co-ordinated. The last mentioned
chore had a special meaning to the island’s young people, as singing and story
telling were included. No special societies were established, although the
missionaries of the Pentecostal revival started a choir in the 1930s. The lack
of suitable reading material locally is often complained about (Engström 1953;
Aman 1992). This does not mean that the islanders lacked a social network, but
their social life was strictly age and gender-oriented. Married men often
assembled at twilight for an hour for talk and card playing, but did not
include young men in their discussions, the boys met on their own. Women were
not included in decision making process at all, although they were the ones
carrying out the most of the work. They organised their own social events on
special occasions like after finishing the ploughing or after a child was born
on one of the island farms, or a wedding was impending. They met daily for a
talk at the village well by Gatodappen
after seeing the cattle off the village area at the time the animals went out
for pasture[36].
The
end of hay-making and harvest was celebrated by the whole village. The
Midsummer night festivities became the most important events for the young[37].
Drinking of home brewed beer was part of all the festivities, but heavy
drinking was not part of island life. The missionaries complained about the
drinking habits of the islanders (Aman 1992); but they evidently used alcohol
as a general excuse for the need to ‘waken’ the people to the church. They
succeeded to the extent that selling liquor on the island was stopped in the
1880s. The liquor had been brought every autumn from the mainland, thereafter
the village elder was in charge of its exposition. Some made profit but others
had to pay from their own pocket[38].
Some plots of land changed hands in consequence of lack of funds in paying for
drinks: the Erkas’ farm had gained most and the Marks’ and Greis’ farms had
lost parts of their home fields this way.
Despite
this closeness, some things were private and even talking about them was
supposed to bring bad luck. It was never said how big was the catch of
whitefish. That can be explained by this being one of the oldest types of
fishing, that had transferred the oldest beliefs to the modern times. The same
could be true about fishing in general. Some people never told how much fish
they had caught. Another delicate area where one had to be aware of the evil
eye, was making of butter[39].
The
group boundary outward was marked by telling often rather critical stories
about others especially about people of Vormsi who were considered as simple[40] and of the Pakri islands who were supposed to
be too rich for their own good spending it all on alcohol[41].
An important marker on the community boundary was being a fisherman; that is
more open and free than the farmers. The importance of wealth in
differentiating the islanders of Osmussaar from the Estonian Swedes on the
mainland is evident in a story told by a representative of the poor fishermen,
Adam Schönberg:
Drottning
Christina hon har skrivet privelegie brev ått Estlands svenskna. Från Rikolboar
och Ormseboar och Nockoboar och vippalboar ha dessa fribrev blyvet från
narrade. men Odinsholmarna ha sina kvar. så talas dett. men dåm äro så rädda
för dem att dåm inte vågar visa dem för någon att dåm och så skall bly från dem
narrade. Om inte Albert Engström och Corn den tredje kommer jag inte ihåg voro
dit seglande. 1921 med sin lustJacht - om dåm fingo se fri brevet. dåm blevo så
intima vänner med Albert Engström. att han här i Sverige kolecktera 5000 kr.
och skyckade till Estland ått Odinsholmarna[42]
It
is argued that island environment had its own special influence on the people
and some of its elements in the landscape were meaningful for the inhabitants
in creating their identity. Landscape is the spatial location of clues to
knowledge based on oral memory, every spot on the island was connected to some
forefather carrying the connection between kinship history and locality.
Objects and places have both a physical and a symbolic significance within the
community (Stock 1990). The people were constantly engaged in implanting such
meaning into their home environment, without them it looses much of its value.
The lighthouse and the chapel may be seen as persistent outward symbols of the
island. The feeling of home was, however, grounded in the familiarity with the
setting and its landmarks. The plundering on the island by the Soviet troops
during the Second World War robbed the islanders of their home summarised by the
concluding remarks of Julius Brus’ letter:
Men - nu - ligger Odensholm
ruinerad och öde... Det var inga gulldland heller. Men det var en plats där
våra fäder hade strävat till sitt sista mål[43].
The
island of Osmussaar is part of the Estonian cultural history, representing
friendly connections between two
neighbouring countries. As one of the descendants of the islanders pointed out:
it is ironical that a so-called socialist state caused the destruction of a
community with such a high degree of collectivity and equality as Osmussaar
had. Therefore, it is admirable that the islanders and their descendants still
hold some of the former community values and are interested in creating a
future for the island[44].
The outline of this future is yet vague, but similar developments to creating a
place that comes to life during the summer likewise to the Scandinavian
archipelagos may be assumed, although the islanders never re-gained their
ancient maintenance rights and private enterprise is restricted on the island,
which has become a landscape reserve.
I
would like to thank professor Göran Hoppe for having insisted that I should
include an Estonian-Swedish island in my research as well as introducing to me
the rich sources and the former islanders to whom, especially to Frida
Andersson, Elmar Engman and Valter Erkas, I owe a great debt of gratitude. It
would not have been possible to get a feeling for the island (despite the
changes) without the courage of my relatives in Nôva, Enno and Urmet Uusorg who
did not give up and helped me to visit it against many odds. Not least,
fieldwork was supported by a research grant from the Swedish Society for
Anthropology and Geography.
References
Archive materials:
ERA:
Estonian State Archive (Eesti Riigiarhiiv, Tallinn):
f.62 Catastral and Land Survey Department of the Ministry of Agriculture
f.1091 National Board of Waterways
f.1831 State General Statistics Bureau
f.2042 Maps, plans, drafts, and projects of constructions and land plots
f.2382 Riguldi municipality administration
EAA: Estonian History Archive (Eesti Ajalooarhiiv, Tartu):
f.1864 Soul revision auditing lists collection of the Province of Estonia
f.3169 Noarootsi St Catherine church records, 1680-1893
f.3724 Collection of catastral documents
ERM (Eesti Rahva Muuseum, Tartu):
f.893 E. Koern photos of Osmussaar, 1940
f.907 F.Linnus photos of Osmussaar, 1940
f.1394: 334-347; 588-594 G. Vilbaste photos of Osmussaar, 1927 / 1933 / 1939
f.1523: 2118-21; 2320, 1; 2358, 9; 2741-50 G. Vilbaste photos 1927 / 1933
NM (Nordiska Museet, Stockholm), Estlandsvenskt material:
Julius Brus’ letter, 1945.
Material collected by Helmut Hagar, 1946-49.
Adam Schönberg’s letter, 1949.
SOFI (Språk- och folkminnesinstitutet; Dialekt och Folkminnesarkivet, Uppsala)
Material written by Thomas Gärdström, 1936-38.
Julius Brus’ correspondence with Nils Tiberg, 1945-66.
Odensholm photos, Sven Rabe (1926 / 1928) with text by Julius Brus (1964).
Aman, V. 1961: Överflyttningen
till Sverige. - In: Lagman, E. (ed.), En bok om estlands- svenskar, vol. 1.
Bröderna Lagerström, Stockholm, pp. 224-246.
Aman, V. 1992. Odensholm. - In: Aman, V. (ed.), En bok
om estlandssvenskar, vol. 4. Sture Roos, Stockholm, pp.293-307, 411.
Calhoun, C. J. 1980. Community toward a variable
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Cohen, A. P. 1987. Whalsay: symbol, segment and
boundary in a Shetland island community. - Manchester University Press,
Manchester.
Cohen, A. P. 1989. The symbolic construction of
community. - Routledge, London.
Conzen, M. P. 1990. Introduction. - In: Conzen, M. P.
(ed.), The making of the American landscape. Unwin Hyman, Boston, pp.1-8.
Danell, S. 1979: Guldstrand: minnen från sju år i
Estland. - Skeab/Verbum, Stockholm.
Duncan, J. S. 1978. The social construction of
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kirjastus, Tartu.
Eklund, O. 1936. Odinsholm. Intryck från ett
sommarbesök. - Terra, 48 (1): 11-20.
End, A. 1939. Osmussaarest kalanduslikul taustal. -
Eesti Kalandus, (12): 87-88.
End, A. 1983. Tursk kalakeskuse alustalana. - In:
Pettai E. (ed.), Eesti kalanduse minevikust, vol.1. Eesti Kalurite Koondis,
Stockholm, pp.361-364.
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leverne. Albert Bonniers Förlag, Stockholm, pp.119-30.
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Kruus, H. (eds), 1938. Läänemaa,
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110, 174-7.
Holst, J. 1995. En vagn lastad med gamla
tillhörigheter från Odensholm i juni år 1940. - Kustbon 52(4): 10-4.
Johansen, P. 1951. Nordische Mission, Revals Gründung
und Schwedensiedlung in Estland. Reval, Kopenhagen.
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adramaarevisjon. Läänemaa. Allikpublikatsioon, Olion, Tallinn, pp.133-134.
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estnische Ortsnamen. - Annales Acad. Sci Fenn. Serie B, 90:1, Helsinki.
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Ann. Soc. Litt. Est. in Suecia, vol.2,
Lund, pp. 88-97.
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(Kulturföreningen Svenska Odlingens Vänner), Caslon Press, Stockholm, pp.
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[1] The official Estonian names are used in the discussion; the island place names are spelled as they were spoken by the locals. In historical documents the commonly used forms of the island name are Odesholm, (from the Swedish word öde meaning bare) Otzholm, and Odinsholm. The islanders feel most affinity with Odensholm, making a connection with the Nordic god Oden (enlargement in the last section). The origin of the Estonian form ‘Osmussaar’ has remained unexplained, but can be a diminutive of Otsmaasaar used at the beginning of the nineteenth century according to Russwurm (1855: 132) and meaning ‘island by the land’s tip’. For details and mention of the island in early documents see Johansen (1951: 248); Kettunen (1955: 113); Lagman (1964: 19-21).
[2] The description is based on the following sources: Hagar, H. Allmänt om Odinsholm. NM: E.U.40015, 36s., 6bl.; Topografi: terrängförhållanden, åkrar, ängar. NM: E.U.40017, 20s.; Ägoförhållanden. NM: E.U.40018, 9s., and Gärdström, T. Beskrivning av Odensholm med kartskiss. SOFI: 10034, 60 s., Brus, J. Kartskiss med ortnamn. SOFI: 26184, 41 s., and on interviews with the former islanders.
[3] Hagar, H. Fiske och fiskehandel, NM: E.U.36224, s.2-8
[4] Hagar, H. Ägoförhållanden. NM: E.U.40018. His material is complemented with descriptions by Julius Brus in Bondejordens odling, årligt utsäde, kål. SOFI: 26182.
[5] The Marks’ farm is divided in the official statistics in 1939 (ERA: f.1831 n.1 s.2840; 3720; 4065), but the descendants all insist on its remaining intact until the evacuation.
[6] Hagar, H. Ägoförhållanden. NM: E.U.40018, s.7
[7] Thomas Gärdström (SOFI: 11372) reports in the life story of Johannes Stavas that an unwritten law allowed only three sons to remain at the farm at any one time, the other children had to emigrate. They were not allowed to any financial support from the home farm either.
[8] Hagar, H. Samhällsskick och familjeförhållanden. (NM: E.U.43130, s.6) gives the 1660s as the time for colonisation suggested to him by the islanders; Valter Erkas in the interview to Svenska Dagbladet (20.11.1995, p.9) says 1610; a third source (SOFI - Tiberg anteckningar häfte 8c) suggests 1571. A new family myth of ten generations of forebears resting in the island church-yard was launched when memorial stones were erected on the island in 1994.
[9] Material at the Swedish National Archive collected by Magnus Berencreutz.
[10] Noarootsi kirikumeetrika, EAA: f.3169 n.1 s.1: 373-5
[11] Revisionsliste, EAA: f.1864 n.2 s.IV-10: 15p-16p; s. V-65: 225-7; s.VII-156: 27-9; s.VIII-165: 67-9; s.IX-168: 72-5; s.X-343: 100-3; parish records from 1800 to 1823 (EAA: f.3169 n.1 s.4: 48-49p).
[12] Hagar, H. Samhällsskick och familjeförhållanden. NM: E.U.43130: 2,6.
[13] Five families when considering the Nibondas’ connection with the Brus’ and that of the Westerbloms with the Greis’ family.
[14] Concluding from the church register of births there the farther is recorded as a sailor or lighthouse keeper (EAA: f.3169), and the twentieth century lighthouse records (ERA: f.1091 n.2 s.289).
[15] ERA: f.2382 n.1 s.12; s.118
[16] ERA: f.2382 n.1 s.6, s.155
[17] Hagar, H. Ägoförhållanden. NM: E.U.40018, s.8
[18] See SOFI: 10394, 11091, 11259, 12528 for examples of mild critique of the islanders.
[19] ERA: f.2382 n.2 s.87
[20] The factual data from ERA: f.1091 n.1 s.1813 and EAA: f.3724 n.1 s.75; memories of Frida Andersson.
[21] ERA: f.2382 n.1 s.70; s.129; s.151
[22] According to Aman (1992) it was five barrels each from the whole island. The charters are re-printed in Russwurm (1855) who discusses the taxes and changes in them over time.
[23] Hagar, H. Samhällsskick och familjeförhållanden. NM: E.U.43130, s.3
[24] Hagar, H. Bondeseglation och handelsresor. NM: E.U.43129, s.2
[25] The description of fishing is mainly based on Hagar, H. Fiske och fiskehandel. NM:E.U.36224, 59 s., the stories have the same origin.
[26] Hagar, H. Båtar. NM: E.U.40023, 35 s., 8 bl.
[27] ERA: f.2382 n.1 s.120; s.149
[28] ditto, p.29
[29] ditto, p.42
[30] Talundilehed Riguldi vald (1939), ERA: f.1831 n.1 s.3720, l.140-52
[31] Hagar, H. Sädd. NM: E.U.40020: 8
[32] ERA: f.1831 n.1 s.3720
[33] "And the name of the islet Odensholm of the old Nordic God Oden. Yes, maybe the ones who moved there bought the name with them. It was a long time ago... There, on Osmussaar was a very big boulder that was called Oden’s stone. And together with the boulder was a hole or more correctly like a human footstep where no moss grew. And was said to be Oden’s footstep... And more - it was said that he had written with his big toe on another boulder that had deep scratches and lines on it, was said to be his toe-script... But it is probably a myth" - Brus, J. Vinterfiske. NM: E.U.29226: 7
[34] Among the otherwise rather derogatory names, Johannes Stavas was called Prästn (Priest) and held in high regard as a wise man; Johannes Erkas was valued in more practical matters as one of the best fishermen according to the stories by the former islanders.
[35] Hagar, H. Byorganisation och gemensamma arbeten. NM: E.U.43120: 2
[36] Hagar, H. Boskapsskötsel. NM: E.U.43123, s.5
[37] Hagar, H. Årets fester och märkelsedagar, 20 s.
[38] Hagar, H. Mathushållning. NM: E.U.43121, s.25
[39] ditto, s.22
[40] Hagar, H. Husbygge. NM: E.U.42094, s.7
[41] As mentioned half jokingly by Valter Erkas in his interview with the author in November 1995.
[42] "Queen Christina, she has written charters to Estonian Swedes. From the people of Riguldi and Vormsi and Noarootsi and Vihterpalu were those letters cheated away. but the islanders of Odinsholm had still theirs. so was the talk. but they were so afraid of them being cheated from them that they dare not show them to anybody. If not Albert Engström and Corn (Anders Zorn), the third I cannot remember (A.Gallén) sailing to the island in 1921 (actually in 1905) in their luxury yacht - if they got to see the charter. They became such good friends with A.E. that he collected 5000 kroons here in Sweden and sent it to Estonia to the islanders of Osmussaar (money was actually collected by the society Svenska Odlingens Vänner for establishing a school on the island)". - Schönberg, A. Sägner om svenska kungar. NM: E.U.37559, 10s.
[43] "But - now - is Osmussaar ruined and deserted... It was no Elysium either. But it was a place where our forefathers had struggled to their last destination." - Brus, J. Vinterfiske. NM: E.U.29226, s.7
[44] Material gleaned from the interviews with the former islanders and from the yearly Byalag meeting, attended in Irsta, Sweden on January 21, 1996.