Singing

In the Suiti language there are two words describing singing: dziedāšana un ziņģāšana. The long songs, which have several verses and a plot-related text, were called ziņģes. And there was no distinction whether this zinģe was a folk song or whether it was written by some composer.

The men ziņģā and the women dzied, because it was believed that the women are more suited to calling, bending and pulling (scientifically it is called drone singing), and the men to sing ziņģes. When the boys did drone sing, usually it was for fun together with girls, so these songs therefore had a more one-sided character. Women sang in drone singing much more, and their songs were very versatile, touching different areas of life and household.

It took several people to sing drone folk songs. The caller started a song. As soon as the first two lines of the verse of the song have been sung, called, the caller falls silent, and then the same words are repeated a second time by the bender. At the same time as the bender, the drone singers start to sing their tone, drawing the eeeeeeeeee long. Then the caller starts again, etc. Sometimes the caller also helps the bender to repeat the words of the songs. Good callers and benders were highly respected and were often invited to weddings even in families where they had no relatives at all.

The singing techniques mentioned here may seem dull and monotonous, but they are not. Our folk songs acquire their aesthetic value to the fullest extent only when the words, musical sounds and the corresponding action are visible (like in an opera), for example, in wedding ceremonies, etc. Moreover, the caller and the bender must also be good actors and accompany each song with appropriate mime and gestures. Such callers and benders were also sought after at weddings.

Singing our folk songs at weddings always left a deep impression and created a certain mood. The actions, together with the sounds of the songs, deeply move those present. I don’t know if you can find something similar in the traditions of other nations. The men, for the most part, did not sing themselves, but they always listened diligently to the singing of their girls. Back then, this folk art was what educated us aesthetically and morally.

The Land of Suiti is unique in that there has been recorded more than 52 thousand folk songs and their variants. Many folk songs for various occasions in life, as well as 113 old ziņģes with notes, comments and data about the singers of these ziņģes, can be found in the book Dziesminiece Veronika Porzinge, compiled by Dace Nasteviča.