The Patterns of Kihnu Life

Kihnu is first and foremost associated with colourful striped folk costume skirts; the tightly knit skirts with their magical stripes that are able to withstand icy winds in the winter and the fast spins in folk dancing circles in the summer. So it is no surprise that these skirts are loved and admired. However, the skirt stripes aren’t the only pattern on the island. Everywhere you look on Kihnu there are patterns: red-striped skirts, tall trees in the forest or the floating fish net in the water. Patterns aren’t only in nature and national folk costumes, but also in the everyday lives of Kihnu people: when women hold hands and sing traditional songs that have been preserved for hundreds of years or when fishermen wade through the waves in the early morning to cast their nets out again. I am a Canadian Estonian who moved to Kihnu island in 2008. I would like to show you the patterns of Kihnu life!

Silvia Soide