Pīters Smeļters – Latgalian Folklorist and First Priest from the Varakļāni Region
The portal lakuga.lv continues to introduce Latgalian literary figures, this time highlighting the contributions of Pīters Smeļters (1868–1949) in collecting and publishing folklore.
Pīters Smeļters was born in 1868 near Varakļāni, in the village of Kokari. He was the first Latgalian from the Varakļāni area to receive education and be ordained as a Catholic priest in 1894.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Catholic clergy played a significant role in the Latgalian national movement. Smeļters, being educated and active, engaged in schools, theater, societies, literature, and folklore collection.
In 1895, while serving in St. Petersburg, Smeļters met H. Visendorfs and handed over his collection of folk songs – the first from a Latgalian. The songs were transcribed and sent to Krišjānis Barons. Smeļters became the main proofreader for Latgalian folk songs and encouraged friends to send their collections. Together with seven assistants, including the most active K. Skrynda (616 songs) and J. Aizpūrīts (247 songs), songs were collected from 26 parishes, most notably from Leivoni parish (689 songs), as well as Varakļāni and Sakstagals.
During the period of censorship (1865–1904), only scientific works could be published in Latgalian. Few such books existed, and one of them was “Tautas dzismu, posoku, meikļu un parunu voceleite” published in 1899, compiled by Pīters Smeļters. This small book (28 pages) contained 47 folk songs, 2 tales, 183 proverbs, and 188 riddles. A list of informants was included at the end.
The book includes, for example, the tale “About the King's Son” about envy and betrayal, where a prince chooses a poor girl, but a witch mother tries to destroy their children. After many trials, good triumphs, and the family reunites.
Throughout his life, Smeļters published his collected materials, for instance, in 1913 he published a folk song “Saule tak wokorâ...” in the newspaper “Dryva”. Unlike the quatrains in “Latvju dainas”, Smeļters' recorded songs were often longer, with a narrative structure.
In his later years, Smeļters served as a priest in Catholic Sielija, where he also died. He was buried in Svente Cemetery.
This story is part of a book “Latgalīšu literati. Mozs īsavierīņs” prepared by Valentīns Lukaševičs, scheduled for publication in the first half of 2026 with support from the State Culture Capital Foundation.
