Setomaa Farm Museum Seeks Seto Names for Three Lambs

Three lambs born at the Värska Farm Museum in Setomaa in July are still without names. The Setomaa Museums are inviting visitors to suggest traditional Seto names for the newest residents—one brown and two black lambs, who can already be seen exploring a grassy outdoor pen.

Museum manager Agris Kuningas hopes people will come to see them and, after observing their personalities, visit the Obinitsa Museum, which has an exhibition dedicated to Seto names. He notes there should be plenty of traditional surnames and given names to choose from. Seto given names, such as Taarka, Heetska, Hedoska, Taali, Teppo, and Pirgo, are often shortened and derived from Eastern Orthodox tradition and are unique even within Estonia.

Since the custom of giving farm animals names derived from human names remains common, exhibition curator Ode Oras said naming the museum's newborn lambs with Seto names is a way to help preserve local heritage. "Not many Setos today have historical names anymore, but as a keeper of traditions, this is one way the museum can remind people of these names and make them more popular again," Oras said.

Kuningas emphasized that the animals are not a petting zoo but are there to help visitors understand traditional rural life in Setomaa. "They're here to be seen, like most museum exhibits," he added, noting that historically farmers kept their animals away from strangers.

The lambs will join a growing family of four-legged residents with distinctive names at the Värska museum, including Pigi the dog, Kull'o the cat, and Vasso the calf. Visitors have until August 2 to submit their name suggestions.