ESUKA – JEFUL 2018, 9–2: 109–128 CHASING LIVONIAN HERITAGE ON THE LIVONIAN COAST Baiba Šuvcāne1,2 and Valts Ernštreits1 1University of Latvia and and 2Kolka’s Livonian Centre Abstract. In 2018, the Livonian cultural space was added to the Latvian National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage, a step towards inclusion in the corresponding UNESCO list. This article seeks to document the present state of Livonian intangible cultural herit- age, especially Livonian language, on the Livonian Coast. Currently, this territory is not visually demarcated and is divided among three local governments. This split also can be seen in the display of information. Signs and displays use Livonian, but their quality should be improved. Though the Latvian State Language Law states that Livonian and Latvian names can be used together on the Livonian Coast, no official bilingual signs exist. Tourism business operators rarely use Livonian heritage in their offerings. Com- munity organisations have been more active in this regard. At their events, one can become acquainted with the cultural heritage of this region and hear Livonian. Keywords: intangible heritage, language documentation, language environment, lin- guistic landscape, Livonian DOI: https://doi.org/10.12697/jeful.2018.9.2.05 1. Introduction The Livonians are a uniquely important and integral part of Latvia’s cultural heritage. The roots of Livonian cultural heritage stretch far into the distant past. Despite the fact that for many centuries the Livonians have been subject to ethnic and linguistic assimilation, wars, and also the Soviet occupation, somehow we have managed to keep our language and culture alive. We have enriched it, developed it, nurtured it. In the present day, Livonian cultural heritage is protected by Latvian state law. The law “On the Free Development and Right to Cultural Autonomy of Nationalities and Ethnic Groups in Latvia”. (Par Latvijas nacionālo un etnisko grupu brīvu attīstību un tiesībām uz kultūras autonomiju) went into effect on March 19, 1991. This law states that the Latvians and an ancient indigenous nation – the Livonians – live in the Republic of Latvia. However, Article 4 of the law states that the 110 Baiba Šuvcāne, Valts Ernštreits national government and administrative institutions of the Republic of Latvia are responsible for the preservation of the national identity and cultural historical environment of Latvia’s ancient indigenous nation – the Livonians – as well as ensuring the restoration and development of the socioeconomic infrastructure of their inhabited territory. Article 4 of the Latvian State Language Law guarantees that the state ensures the preservation, defence, and development of the Livonian language as an indigenous (autochthonous) language of Latvia. Likewise, Article 18 Paragraph 4 explains that place names on the Livonian Coast as well as the names of institutions, community organisations, businesses, and events occurring within this territory are to be formed and used in the Livonian language. This final point is supplemented by the Place Name Information Regulations published on January 10, 2012 where Paragraph 7 states “The place names of the territory historically inhabited by the Livonians are to be formed in the Livonian language and according to Livonian language norms.” The Livonians are also included in the Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and in the Latvian Culture Canon. One of the places where Livonian cultural heritage can be encoun- tered in its most concentrated form is in the Livonian fishing villages of northern Courland (Latvian: Kurzeme), also known as the Livonian Coast, as it has usually been called in more recent times. There are 14 vil- lages traditionally considered to be part of this region, which are found along the coasts of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Rīga: Oviši (Livonian: Pațīkmō), Lūžņa (Lūž), Miķeļtornis (Pizā), Lielirbe (Īra), Jaunciems (Ūžkilā), Sīkrags (Sīkrõg), Mazirbe (Irē), Košrags (Kuoštrõg), Pitrags (Pitrõg), Saunags (Sǟnag), Vaide (Vaid), Kolka (Kūolka), Melnsils (Mustānum), Ģipka (Gipkõ). In this region, the Livonians still lived as a compact community until the 19th and 20th centuries, using Livonian as their language of daily interaction. 2. Background During the last decade, the number of tourists visiting the Livonian Coast has greatly increased. Some role in this has been played by the paving of the entire length of the Kolka-Ventspils road in 2011. How- ever, people mostly come to this place, wishing to encounter something Livonian in the still recently little-known Livonian seashore and its coastal villages. Chasing Livonian heritage on the Livonian Coast 111 The elements of Livonian heritage – both tangible and intangible – found on the Livonian Coast, has been described in many publications. In the last decade, an entire string of books has been published devoted to the Livonian Coast as a whole (Šuvcāne xxx, 2018), its individual villages (Šuvcāne 2002, 2006, 2010, 2012, 2015, 2017), various types of intangible heritage (Blumberga et al 2013; Ernštreits 2010; Šuvcāne 2003) as well as publications used in connection with tourism (LB; Ernštreits 2017; etc.). Currently, the Latvian and Estonian cross-border project “UNESCO- tourism” is being enacted and one of its goals is the popularisation of Livonian intangible heritage. Representatives of Livonian community organisations and local governments as well as the association “Lauku ceļotājs” (Rural traveller) are cooperating on this project. All of the preconditions exist to make the Livonian heritage of the Livonian Coast one of the main elements attracting travellers to this region. But, how noticeable even is Livonian heritage on the present- day Livonian Coast? On November 8, 2018, the Livonian cultural space – the entirety of the elements of Livonian intangible heritage – were added to the Latvian National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. This also marks the begin- ning of the journey for the present-day Livonian community towards inclusion in the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage. The current article is based on the study which gathered information about Livonian heritage so that the Livonian cultural space could be included in this list. Its goal was to document the current state of the Livonian Coast from the perspective of Livonian intangible cultural heritage. This was accomplished by visiting all of the Livonian Coast villages and documenting the situation, which could be observed there. The authors themselves are active researchers of Livonian heritage who have deep knowledge regarding various Livonian cultural monu- ments found on the Livonian Coast and about the connection of places on the coast with Livonian cultural history. However, in this article, attention is given to gaining a different kind of impression of the Livo- nian Coast by playing the role of a traveller arriving on the Livonian Coast in the present day without any background knowledge, without using the services of tourist information centres or guides, but still wishing to learn about the Livonian language and Livonian heritage, and possibly coming in contact with actual Livonians for the first time. Special attention is paid to the use of elements of language in the lin- guistic landscape of the Livonian Coast, as language is emphasised in 112 Baiba Šuvcāne, Valts Ernštreits the application for inclusion in the Latvian National List of Intangible Cultural Heritage as being the central element of the Livonian cultural space which is present in all modern Livonian cultural processes. As a result, language should be quite noticeable also in the historical territory of the Livonians. 3. A Journey through the Livonian Coast villages Regardless of which road a traveller chooses to take when venturing to the Livonian Coast, they will not know when they have arrived and will not be able to take a photograph of when they have crossed the “bor- der”. In the 1990s, when the state protected Livonian cultural historical territory “Līvõd rānda” still existed, wooden signs had been placed on all of the major roads, which identified this territory not only on the map, but also within the visual field of travellers. However, these signs have long since disappeared, which leaves one to hope that a traveller will at least be able to sense their arrival in the cultural historical terri- tory of the Livonians by driving into the first village. Arriving on the Livonian Coast from the direction of Ventspils, the first village is Oviši. Nowadays it is only sparsely inhabited and the main centre of the village is the Oviši Lighthouse complex. The light- house tower is a national industrial monument. Oviši Lighthouse has become a popular tourist destination. The lighthouse complex contains a small exhibit about the history of Latvian lighthouses. Walking around the village, there is no indication of its Livonian heritage. However, if there were an informational display at the historical home of the Princis (Livonian: Prints) family, travellers would learn that Kārlis Aleksandrs Princis was born and had grown up there. Princis was a world famous entomologist and one of the most well-known members of the Princis family who were of great significance to Livonian cultural history. If one happened to stop at the Oviši cemetery, then the long line of graves of members of the Princis family would be immediately notice- able. The grave of the family patriarch, Indriķis, is quite prominent. However, there is no place in the village where one sees its Livonian name – Pațīkmō – which would testify to the historical presence of the Livonians in this village. The next village is Lūžņa. These days it is difficult to call it a village, as it consists of just a few inhabited houses. Attached to a large, preserved building, one encounters a sign reading “Lūžņa station Chasing Livonian heritage on the Livonian Coast 113 1916–1962” (Lūžņas stacija 1916–1962) written in Latvian. In the sea- shore dunes there are two small border guard shacks, which are proudly adorned with a sign in Latvian reading “Private Property”.