Skilled intimacy: mushrooming, musicking, and heritaging in Estonia

Abstract

How can uncertainty in heritage be viewed, not as a threat or risk, but as an opportunity for continuity, creativity, and socio-cultural intimacy? Referring to itself as a ‘small’ ‘Singing Nation’, Estonia is a country characterised by a range of uncertainties yet remains deeply proud of its musical legacy. After Estonia gained its independence in 1991, heritage throughout the country has seen enthusiastic, proactive citizens engaging in heritage experiences, learning traditional music, and actively searching, initiating, exploring, and experimenting with new approaches to preserve and pass on their heritage. I examine these music heritage practices and explore the ways in which Estonians relate to the musical world, and, through that, to each other and to the nation. In particular, I focus on the moment of action, on the micro-process of heritage, which I refer to as ‘heritaging’, to highlight not only the music product but also the sensory and emotional embodiment of the music-producing experience. In this dissertation, I demonstrate how Estonian citizens are socially and structurally encouraged and supported in developing musical skills. I also show how various groups of practitioners explore, practise, and relate to heritage in their own unique ways while collectively co-recreating a vibrant Estonian traditional musicscape, a musical landscape, a collection of all music within a specific environment perceived, experienced, and understood by people (Schafer, 1994). By acknowledging uncertainty and allowing heritage to be practised flexibly with individual skills, understandings, and emotions, I argue that these practitioners find ways to keep Estonian heritage alive, inspire creativity, and foster a type of cultural and national bonding which I define as skilled intimacy.