SUITI - PhMuseum

© Marta Berens - Image from the SUITI photography project

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The Suiti cultural space is a unique phenomenon in Latvian culture. The Suiti are a small Catholic community in the Protestant (Lutheran) western part of Latvia. The Suiti cultural space is characterized by a number of distinct features, including vocal drone singing performed by Suiti women, wedding traditions, colorful traditional costumes, the Suiti language, local cuisine, religious traditions, celebrations of seasonal traditions, and a remarkable number of folksongs, dances and melodies recorded in this community.

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Suiti is a perfect example of religious syncretism. They live along with Catholic faith and at the same time believe in special powers of trees. Dace is a very unique person. She lives in Gudeniki, one of three Suiti’s municipalities. She is is taking care of Gudeniki’s Church. We have become friends even though we don’t communicate in each other languages. Dace lives in deep harmony with all what surrounds her

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Since returning to the Catholic faith in 1632, the Suiti have acquired a very special Catholic identity of their own. The identity, they still today are very proud of. In the following centuries, due to religious based self-isolation from the surrounding Protestant communities, in this compact area a very rich and unique cultural space was created and largely preserved until the present days.

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The pillar of Suiti identity - the Catholic Church - successfully recovered following the Soviet period and as a result, the Suiti cultural space has experienced a gradual renaissance. However, today only a few, mostly old people, have a good knowledge of the Suiti cultural heritage, and thus there is an urgent need to disseminate this knowledge and to involve more people in its preservation by recovering elements preserved only in written documents, film archives and museum depositaries.

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The sense of local identity became less apparent in the Soviet period. But it is still alive and vital today. They believe, that if they continue to work on it, the Suiti community can still resist the everpresent threats of assimilation and experience not just its 400 years, but also 500 years and many more, enriching with their unique Catholic identity and culture not just Latvia, but also Europe and the whole World.

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Older forms of extended family structures are still common here, and such families, where the transfer of skills from generation to generation takes place, are important bastions of Suiti cultural heritage. The synthesis of pre-Christian traditions and religious rituals has created a unique blend of intangible cultural heritage in the Suiti community.

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In order to better distinguish Catholics from Protestants Johan Ulrich von Schwerin required his peasants to wear a special uniform, elements of which still today can be seen in the traditional dresses of the Suiti community. Women had to wear bright red, green, blue wide skirts, but men had to wear grey coats with two rows of bright buttons. Catholics on the estate also received a number of privileges.

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Original liturgical vessel used byohan Ulrich von Schwerin and Barbara in 17th century.

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Johan Ulrich was poisoned by Protestants. Local legend says, he was invited to a meeting in Reģi estate by neighbouring Protestant landowners to negotiate conditions, upon which Ēdole church could also be handed ower to Catholics. There he was given poisoned food. Johan Ulrich died near Raibuļas farm on the way back to Alsunga, shortly before reaching his doctor. This happened in May, 1637.

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No other such phenomenon as Suiti exists in Latvia. Its importance on a global scale was recognized by UNESCO in 2009, when Suiti Cultural Space was included into UNESCO’s List of Intangible Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.