Lauri Lähteenmäki - The Liv Land

The Liv Land

In search of the Livonian homeland

In July 2024, I travelled to the northwestern corner of Latvia in search of the indigenous Livonian culture. The Livonians are a Finnic people who have inhabited the western regions of Latvia, particularly the Livonian Coast – Līvõd rānda. Today, there are only about 250 Livonians or Livs in Latvia, of whom about 25 speak Livonian. The last native speaker of Livonian died in 2011.

Historically, Livonians were a fishing culture who acquired their subsistence from the vast sandy coast of the Baltic Sea using wooden boats and nets. When the German powers extended to the Baltic region, Livonians resisted German efforts to conquer the land and convert local pagans into Christianity. Other power-hungry states followed, and in the late 18th century, Livonia got under Russian control.

The Livonian population had already withered when the short-lived years of Latvian independence came into the end, as Latvia was illegally occupied by the Soviet Union in 1940. Yet, more than half of the Livs were lost during the Second World War, when Latvia got annexed twice – by both the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany.

Livonian Coast, Līvõd rānda in Livonian.

After the war, totalitarian Soviet control of the society was implemented. Local cultures, who had deep traditions and relationship to the sea, now saw their homelands becoming basically landlocked, as access to the shore became restricted in order to prevent people fleeing from the country. Every few hundred meters, watch towers were erected on the beaches of Livonia. Every morning, the shoreline was raked into a pattern, as it could highlight the footprints of possible fugitives.

As a result, the Livonian culture saw an end of its traditions. Fishermen’s wooden boats had to be dragged into the shore and left to abandon. A ‘boat cemetery’ of Irē (Mazirbe) village reminds of this tragedy.

However, the culture itself did not end. With the efforts of multiple Livonian organizations, the Livonian people were given an official indigenous status in Latvia after the Soviet Union’s collapse. Today, the Livonian Coast is partially protected and covered by the Slitere National Park and tourism should be restricted in the area. Every year, a Livonian cultural festival is organized in Irē (Mazirbe). Traditional Liv villages host a cultural center, information house, and a community building – the former built with the support Finnish and Estonian organizations.

In many ways, the Livonian culture has been able to utilize the cultural capital of Finland and Estonia, who share a similar language and origins. For example, they all share the same melody in their national anthems – and the Livonian bible was translated based on the Finnish version. Livonian influence in Latvian culture and language is vast. It can be seen in many Latvian words (i.e. "mets", forest) and place names (i.e. Jürmala), as well as Latvian folklore and culinary traditions. Cultural exhange to the Estonian Saaremaa – just behind the Irbe Strait – has been strong.

In 2022, Latvian media reported of a child who was raised as native Livonian speaker by her language activist parents.